• The court heard that the accused persons obtained the money by falsely pretending they had genuine gold for sale.
• Cianci said he lost Sh14 million after being duped that he had bought genuine gold worth $1198,000.
Image: FILE
A witness on Thursday recounted to court how businessman Paul Kobia and 13 others accused of Sh14 million gold scam lured him to a house on Riverside Drive, Nairobi.
Italian Antonio Cianci, who is a director of a Dubai-based company known as Iron & Steel DMCC, told Milimani senior resident magistrate Zainabu Abdul that the accused persons claimed the house had pure gold for sale.
"Your honour, my company deals with buying and selling of gold," said the witness.
Cianci said that on April 25, 2019, he lost Sh14 million after being duped that he had bought genuine gold worth $1,198,000. The court heard that the accused persons obtained the money by falsely pretending they had genuine gold for sale.
Kobia is charged alongside his 13 employees. They are alleged to have conspired to defraud Cianci Director of Iron and Steel DMCC from Arab Emirates US dollars 14,000 (Sh14 million) by displaying metal boxes purporting them to be genuine gold bars.
They are also charged with having an office trading as Duaf International Limited and Malva Amit Limited by falsely pretending that they were carrying out a genuine gold business.
The other accused persons are Simeon Wanaina, Paul Gichuhi, Benjamin Mutisya, Patrick Mweu, Samson Kibet, Faith Kioko, Joyce Wenani, Miriam Nyambura, Consolata Thirindi, James Masai, Doreen Kathambi, Tanya Yvonne Goes and Gabriel Ndururi Murage.
FELONY
Kobia and his employees also face a count of preparation to commit a felony. They were allegedly found on April 26, 2019, with fake gold nuggets, smelting pots, metal tongs, X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometers, assorted rubber stamps and company seals all used to convince unsuspecting people that they were carrying out a genuine gold business.
Kobia is also accused of forging stamps. He is alleged to have been found in possession of an instrument capable of making the impression of a stamp for the Chief Magistrate’s Court Nairobi, Republic of Kenya.
He is also accused of making a false impression in the words of “collector of stamps duties Kenya revenue paid pounds” used for the purposes of revenue or accounting by the Kenya Revenue Authority.
Kobia is further accused of forging stamps from the National Treasury, Central Bank of Kenya, Director of Geological Survey, ministry of mining, Kenya Revenue Authority Customs and Excise duty department, Executive Office of Presidency Department of Procurement Nairobi and that of Registrar of Companies Kenya.
Edited by D Tarus