The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has stepped up its crackdown on a transnational gold fraud syndicate believed to have defrauded foreign investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars through elaborate fake gold schemes.
In the latest development, detectives from the DCI’s Operations Support Unit (OSU) have arrested an advocate suspected of playing a central role in a scam that defrauded a Canadian investor of USD 618,000 (Sh80.34m) in a bogus gold export deal.
According to investigators, the victim was promised 250 kilograms of gold purportedly set for shipment to Dubai aboard a private jet.
On April 15, 2025, a Proforma Invoice amounting to USD 318,400 (Sh41.39m) was issued by a firm suspected to be carrying out the scam, with funds wired to the lawyer’s law firm account.
The victim was later instructed to send an additional USDT 300,000 (Sh39m) to a cryptocurrency wallet. However, no gold was ever delivered.
DCI said the lawyer’s arrest follows the earlier apprehension of a Cameroonian national suspected to be the syndicate's mastermind.
He was arraigned at the Milimani Chief Magistrate's Court on July 31, 2025.
In a parallel case, a Congolese national appeared before the Milimani Law Courts in connection with a fraudulent gold deal targeting a Gabonese investor.
The court granted detectives a seven-day custodial order to conclude investigations, with the case set for mention on August 13, 2025.
Additionally, another man was arrested for his involvement in the same scam.
He is alleged to be the director of a firm, where the complainant was taken to negotiate and formalise the gold deal before transferring USD 140,000 (Sh18.2m) into an escrow account.
The directorate said that at the moment, all suspects remain in custody as investigations continue.
The DCI has reaffirmed its commitment to dismantling the criminal networks behind the sophisticated gold scams.
