• The two pretended they could sell 10kg of gold.
• Bulgarian detained until August 14 when the hearing begins.
Image: COLLINS KWEYU
A Bulgarian national and a Kenyan suspected to be involved in a fake gold scam were on Monday charged with obtaining $30,850 equivalent to Sh3 million from a trader by falsely pretending they could sell him 10kg of gold.
Yulian Stankov Petrov alias Vikta Rosta, a Bulgarian, and Mohammed Akabar Rashi alias Ammit Gathi, a Kenyan, who were arrested last Friday, pleaded not guilty to the fraud charge before Milimani Senior Resident magistrate Caroline Nzibe.
The magistrate released Rashi on a bond of Sh500,000 or a cash bail of Sh100,000, while Yulian was ordered to remain in custody until the hearing of the case on August 14.
The prosecution led by senior state counsel Fridrick Kimathi opposed Yulian's bail application, saying he has no fixed abode in the country.
He told the court he is a flight risk if released on bail. But on the part of Rashi, the prosecutor told the court that they are not opposing his bail application since he has all valid documents showing he is a Kenyan.
The two were charged jointly with others, not before the court of obtaining 30,0850 US dollars from Laxmi Narian Jildal by falsely pretending that they were in a position to sell him 10kg of gold.
Yulian alone is accused of being unlawfully present in the country without valid documents from the Immigration Department in contravention of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act.
The two were arrested in Lavington Mall in Westlands by detectives from the DCI's Transnational Organised Crime Unit.
It is said that they were found with proforma invoices belonging to Air Cargo Limited.
Last week, DCI George Kinoti warned that foreign businessmen trading in gold will have to be subjected to compulsory scrutiny by government agencies before being allowed to continue with their activities.
In the statement posted on his twitter handle, the DCI said that the country has experienced rampant cases where con artists defraud unsuspecting individuals by selling them fake gold.
“DCI's attention has been drawn to an upsurge in criminal cases involving the procurement and sale of gold the country. The gold scam has now reached alarming levels as unsuspecting foreign nationals are being swindled large amounts of money by the fraudsters,” the statement said.
The urged high commissions to join the fight against the vice by advising their nationals engaged in trade to follow procedures.
“We urge the embassies (High Commissions) to advise their nationals coming in for business to be apprised of the con business of gold going on in the country and first contact the Department of Mines and Geology for the procedure that pertains to buying and selling of gold and other precious metals,” DCI said.