How fake Nairobi gold dealers and politician conned Saudi royal Sh 400 m

Image result for Saudi royalDetectives from the office of the director of criminal investigations have arrested two Russians and a Bulgarian national in connection with the gold fraud where a Saudi royal was conned of Sh400 million.

Mr Mohammed Akbar Rashi (Russian) and Mr Yulian Pentrov Stankov (Bulgarian) were arrested last Thursday at the Lavington Mall.

The foreigners are part of an extortion ring which includes some Kenyan Government officials and politicians who facilitate the movements of their victims to a secure section at JKIA where they have leased space for their fraudulent businesses.Image result for gold scam

The scheme is alleged to have started on September 25, 2018, when the group approached a nephew of Sheikh Maktoum, Mr Ali Zandi, who represents Zlivia Company, a gold trading company based in Dubai.

The suspects had claimed they would sell up to five tonnes of gold to Dubai after it was delivered to Kenya from Ndande Tribe in DR Congo through Uganda by road.

However, when it is alleged to have arrived, they reported that it was nabbed at JKIA airport by customs officials and that they required more money to facilitate the release.Related image

However, Zandi declined the demands for cash to facilitate the release and instead flew to Kenya on December 24, last year.

His efforts to meet senior Kenyan government officials were unsuccessful. Instead, the Kenyan contacts, including a senator, took him to JKIA where he was shown sealed boxes purportedly containing the gold.

On January 21, this year, Zandi, who was still in the country, was moved to another hotel to meet a ‘senior government official’ who would facilitate the release of the precious cargo.
Those behind the scheme organised imposters, one masquerading as a powerful cabinet secretary, whom they drove at night in two four-wheel drive cars to the hotel in Karen.Image result for gold scam
Zandi is said to have met the Government official in his car and who assured that the gold would be released. He flew back to Dubai after a month but the said gold never got to Dubai.

According to the police, this prompted Massoud Zandi, a representative of the gold trading company, to call the senator for help.

The senator under investigation in the Sh400 million gold scam that saw a cartel swindle the United Arab Emirates royal family is alleged to have flown to Dubai on the invite of Mr Zandi to convince the royal family he would use his connections to have the said gold released from JKIA where they convinced the royal that it had been held.

However, police say there was no such gold held at the airport. Related image
So far, Sheikh Maktoum has written to Kenya to complain about the scam and demanded action on those behind it.
In the letter addressed to Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, the Sheikh requests immediate action regarding the shipment of gold under “our company’s name Zlivia which is being retained by your authorities in Kenya.”
In the January 20 letter, the Sheikh acknowledges he understands the delay “was caused by the last terrorist attack in your country” apparently referring to the dusitD2 terror attack.Image result for Gold shipment to UAE
“Nevertheless, now we need your immediate and strong action to release the totality of Zlivia Gold shipment to UEA as soon as possible and accordingly to the instructions by our General Manager Mr Zandi who is there in Kenya to organise the shipment.”
“It is quite urgent to solve this issue the earliest,” the letter says in part.

Image result for DCI kenya

On Friday, the DCI revealed that the trade in fake gold had now reached alarming levels and took to social media to alert potential buyers. “The gold scam has now reached alarming levels as unsuspecting foreign nationals are being swindled large amounts of money by the fraudsters,” said the DCI. “We urge the embassies to advise their nationals coming in for business to be apprised of the con gold business going on in the country and first contact the Departments of Mines and Geology for the procedure as pertains to buying and selling of gold and other precious metals,” said the DCI.

Detectives raided a Kileleshwa homestead, officers carried away large black boxes said to contain the fake gold. Eight cars, including a Subaru, Mercedes Benz and a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, which were parked near the house located in Kaputei Gardens, were towed to Kilimani Police Station.

The Nation saw three gold bars at the scene but could not independently verify the authenticity.

The officers carried away large black boxes said to contain the fake gold.

“We arrived at the scene some minutes past 9am and arrested the suspects. Some of the people were hiding in the ceiling,” said one of the detectives.

He said that the raid was part of a wider operation that DCI has been carrying out.

“They (suspects) used the cement in the packaging process. The cement is first put on the floor of the box then followed by the mallets and then the fake gold in the last compartment. The mallets and the cement give it the weight to avoid suspicion,” he said.

The property manager, only identified as a Mr Oduol Ondieki, declined to reveal the identity of the tenant of the lush home which has many rooms fitted with biometric locks.

The officers said they would take the samples to the Ministry of Mining for testing.

The large black boxes had Global Freight Limited/Simiuong NBO/LAOS marks on them.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *