The Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) unmasked a fake gold scheme disguised as timber exports to Europe involving Kenyans and foreigners through their court submission on Wednesday, July 28.
According to the details filed by ARA, they want the court to compel the main choreographers of the scheme who are Zambian nationals Bupe Chipando, Carrolle Simutengu, and their company to forfeit Ksh25 million to the government.
The scheme is executed in such a way that the parties involved mark the payments as clearing charges for the shipment of timber to other countries abroad.
ARA states that the intricate money-laundering scheme is done through a plot that dupes foreigners that they are receiving gold with bank details indicating that it is timber that is being exported.
“We established that they are involved in an intricate money-laundering scheme executed with the intent of defrauding foreign nationals on the premise that they have gold for sale while hiding behind falsified bank documents showing they are engaged in timber export,” reads part of the statement filed by ARA.
The agency told the court that shared out by the foreign businessmen is part of the Ksh157 million received from a shipment of the fake gold disguised as timber. They forged customs documents to conceal their fake gold business.
“To facilitate movement of the funds to their personal accounts, they used agreements supported by falsified custom declaration forms purportedly from Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) as proof that they were engaged in timber importation while we suspect the money was for fake hold trade,” ARA added in their statement.
They added, "Investigations established that Sh71.5 million was transferred from the account held by Ochieng Opiyo Advocates to another account held by First Line Capital Ltd owned by the two Zambian businessmen while declaring that it was payment to purchase timber for export."
The rest of the money was shared by two other companies who received Ksh47.7 million and Ksh37.6 million respectively.
ARA investigator further dragged the Zambian nationals in another case of fraud where foreigners lost Ksh728 million between May 2019 and January 2021 but the proceeds could be not traced.
This is the second suit filed by ARA in a span of seven days. The agency filed a similar suit seeking to recover Ksh50 million from Cameroonian Eddy Michel Malonga, Mubadala Merchants Ltd and First Cargo Logistics.
