The con men involved in the conspiracy to defraud Sameer Africa Ksh 10 million are no ordinary con men of river road or Luthuli. They not only have powerful links but are also smart learned guys and some even are gurus in IT.
Stay with me and i will tell you how they work.
Nairobi citizens still remain amazed on how a gang of seven con men managed to make a call from the comfort of their seats and received Ksh10 million shillings by just twisting the voice to appear as President Uhuru on the end.
Detectives say that due to the complexity of the investigations and the number of suspects involved, including some who are still at large, it is expected that the investigation will involve going through voluminous documents including bank documents and call data records analysis to get to the root of the syndicate.
Police investigating the case say the suspects drive new luxury cars, wear designer suits costing several thousand shillings and live in palatial homes in high-end neighbourhoods.
They stink money and command influence. They’re well-linked in State House, Harambee House and other powerful offices which they use to execute their deceptive juicy deals.
The seven have been running an elaborate tender scam in which several unsuspecting Kenyans lost wheelbarrows of money.
The scammers lure rich business people with the promises of restricted tenders mainly involving the supply of goods.
To win the trust of potential bidders, the fraudsters — in collusion with government officials and police officers — forge documents on letterhead and invite their targets to government offices to sign fake documents.
One of the suspects is a 33-year old IT graduate, Gilbert Kirunja, accused by police of faking President Kenyatta’s voice and recently conning magnate Merali out Sh80 million. He lives in Karen a life only many imagine or dream.
Kirunja, shocked DCI investigators with his fast-lane living, despite being young and unemployed.
His assets include a 10-bedroom mansion, one of the last things the investigators would have imagined when they raided his home.
The large, ornate metal gates leading to the home made it clear this was no ordinary conman suspect.
Kirunja’s house is sandwiched between other upscale homes. A 60-inch colour television welcomes visitors entering his lounge. The seats are buttery-soft leather. Many of his age mates could only fantasise about this kind of life.
Police said Kirunja is the mastermind of a seven-man gang that conned the Merali.
The IT guru is said to be so skilled that he has perfected mimicking the President’s voice.
And when he picked up his mobile to call Merali on January 14 about a tender, the tycoon had no reason to doubt he caller was not the head of state.
Merali and the ‘President’ exchanged pleasantries on the phone, then got down to business.
The ‘President informed Merali of a state tender he wanted the well-known businessman to enjoy. But there was a catch. The ‘head of state’ asked Merali for a small favour before he could embark on the lucrative contract — Sh10 million in advance for facilitation. That presumably was a trifle compared to the tender itself.