Company director, business owner charged over Ksh.1.5B fraud case

According to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Charles Cheruiyot Maiyo, a director of Kaplan Logistics Ltd, and Auma Ritah Otieno, the sole proprietor of Ritasshell Enterprises, alongside their respective companies, each face three counts of unlawful acquisition of public property, acquisition of proceeds of crime and money laundering.

The prosecution told the court that Maiyo unlawfully acquired Ksh.4,960,310 from a bank account held in the name of PROFIT for services that were allegedly not rendered.

He is further accused of acquiring the funds while knowing, or having reason to believe, that they were proceeds of crime.

Otieno is similarly accused of unlawfully acquiring Ksh.3,412,300 from the PROFIT account for services that were allegedly not rendered and acquiring the funds with the knowledge that they were proceeds of crime.

The two pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The prosecution, led by Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Susan Kelly and Principal Prosecution Counsel Faith Mwila, did not oppose their release on bond but asked the court to impose terms in line with the seriousness of the charges.

The prosecution also sought orders requiring the accused to surrender their passports, remain within the court's jurisdiction and refrain from interfering with witnesses.

The defence sought lenient bond terms, citing the suspects' voluntary surrender and arguing that they were not directly involved in the alleged offences.

Maiyo's lawyer also opposed the surrender of his passport, arguing that he frequently travels for business.

After considering the submissions, the court granted each accused a bond of Ksh.1.5 million with a surety of a similar amount or an alternative cash bail of Ksh.600,000.

The court further directed the two to deposit their passports by the close of business on August 24, 2026, attend court physically unless otherwise directed and refrain from interfering with witnesses.

The case will be mentioned on September 2, 2026.