The case in which a couple is accused of defrauding thousands of investors of more than Sh1 billion will proceed to a full hearing on August 5 after the mention on June 7.
Kiambu chief magistrate Patricia Gichohi yesterday issued the order despite prosecutor Christine Mbevi saying she was yet to receive instructions from her boss regarding the case as the police file was being reviewed.
Alfred Wangai Mundia and his wife Mercy Nkatha Kirimi had, through their online forex trading firm VIP Portal, promised to double investors’ deposits.
The couple had earlier, through lawyer Musyoki Kimanthi, told the court they had so far repaid Sh900 million to various investors.
Kimanthi had told Gichohi and senior principal magistrate Stella Atambo that his clients have made an effort to repay the money.
It is alleged that the couple told clients that they would use their capital to trade stocks in internationally listed companies but fell back on the promise as soon as the money had been deposited into their account.
Some investors reported the matter to the police seeking compensation but the couple claimed the investment had not matured one year. The couple had promised to pay dividends within a month of receiving deposits.
In a separate case, the couple has started repaying over Sh82 million and in another, they are repaying Sh4 million to Dr Jane Wanjiru Kang'ethe.
In the Sh4 million case, the charges are that on April 17, 2014, at Ushirika building in Kiambu county with intent to defraud, they obtained Sh1,822,000 from Kang'ethe by falsely pretending that they were in a position to invest in a forex exchange business.
They are also accused of obtaining further Sh960,000, Sh265,000, Sh340,000, Sh960,000, Sh400,000, Sh465,000, Sh317,400, Sh465,000, Sh150,000 from Keng'ethe using the same tricks between February 6 and April 9, 2014, at Ushirika building in Limuru.
The two are further accused of obtaining Sh25,000 and Sh291,000, from Philip Mwangi between March 3, and April 2014 at Ushirika building in Limuru.
Atambo, who is also handling a separate file had allowed the couple to settle the matter out of court.
This followed an application by Mbevi that complainants in all criminal cases against the two wished to withdraw the cases since they have been paid.
The court was informed by the prosecutor that the accused persons and complainants in the case had agreed to settle the matter out of court.
Mbevi had told the court that the accused had agreed to repay all the money and that they had so far started repaying some amount to the complainants.
She asked for more time to enable the parties to finalise an out of court settlement.
It is alleged that between October 2013 and September 2014, the couple engineered a forex trading scam through their firm VIP Portal.
Police says that within eight to nine months, some 13,000 unsuspecting Kenyans lost about a billion of shillings to the couple that was based in Limuru, Kiambu County.
Every investor was asked to deposit a minimum of Sh25,000 at VIP Portal.
The couple is said to have promised investors dividends of between 60 and 80 per cent of the amount they deposited for four consecutive months.
Once the four months expired, the investors would get their total deposits back.
The magistrates have directed the cases to be mentioned on February 22 for the purpose of confirming the repayment of the money.
(Edited by O. Owino)
