31 suspects in Ksh.7M gold scam case to spend second night in jail

Thirty-one suspects arrested on Tuesday in connection with a gold scam were on Wednesday charged with multiple counts of fraud.

The first charge involved conspiracy to defraud two foreign nationals of Ksh.7 million by falsely promising to sell them 35kg of gold.

The court heard that: “On diverse dates between 24th August, 2024 and 19th October, 2024 at Nairobi city county within the Republic of Kenya, jointly with others not before court conspired to defraud Ms Sonali Purbia Malviya and Mr Mohamed Adel of a sum of USD 54,300 (Ksh.7 million) by falsely pretending that you were in a position to sell 35kgs of gold to Integrous Gold and Diamond Trading LLC.”

For the second charge, three of the suspects were accused of obtaining money by false pretenses, while twelve others faced charges of possessing fraudulent documents intended to resemble currency notes.

All the suspects pleaded not guilty to the charges. The court is set to deliver a ruling on their bail application on Thursday.

The suspects linked to a fake gold scam syndicate were arrested in a crackdown by detectives from the Operations Support Unit in Nairobi's Runda estate on Tuesday after two foreign nationals were conned.

During the operation, investigators seized key evidence, including counterfeit gold, spray paint, and padlocks used to create the fake gold.

The suspects, all known repeat offenders with ongoing fraud cases in court, are said to have powerful connections within government circles, which have reportedly shielded them from past actions.

The foreigners, who were lured to Kenya on September 4, 2024, by the scammers, were convinced to purchase 35 kilograms of gold through three separate transactions.

However, after making the payments, they were taken on a wild goose chase, and the gold was never delivered.