Written by Were Kelly
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has stepped up its pursuit of transnational gold fraud syndicates accused of defrauding foreign investors of hundreds of thousands of dollars through elaborate fake gold deals.
In the latest developments, detectives from the Operations Support Unit (OSU) have arrested Michael Otieno Owano, an advocate and proprietor of Otieno M.O. Law Advocates, for his alleged role in defrauding a Canadian investor of USD 618,000.
According to investigators, the victim was enticed into a bogus gold export transaction involving 250 kilograms of gold purportedly destined for Dubai aboard a private jet. On April 15, 2025, a Proforma Invoice worth USD 318,400 was issued by EAI Logistics, prompting the investor to wire the funds to Owano’s law firm account.
Subsequently, the investor was asked to send an additional USDT 300,000 to a cryptocurrency wallet — a request he complied with — but no gold was ever shipped.
Owano’s arrest comes on the heels of the July 31, 2025 apprehension of Francis Talla Ouafo, alias Allain, a Cameroonian national believed to be the mastermind of the syndicate. He was arraigned before the Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court and remains in custody as investigations continue.
In a parallel probe, Lupemba Lorenzi Olivier, a Congolese national, appeared at the Milimani Law Courts in connection with a separate fraudulent gold deal targeting a Gabonese investor. Detectives secured a seven-day custodial order to finalise investigations, with the matter set for mention on August 13, 2025.
Meanwhile, another suspect, Kelvin Otieno Onyango — known as Kevo Sonko — the alleged director of SwiftTaxis Logistics Ltd, was arrested for his role in the same fraudulent network. Police say the complainant was lured to Onyango’s office to negotiate and formalise the gold deal, after which USD 140,000 was transferred into an escrow account.
The DCI says all suspects are in custody, undergoing processing ahead of arraignment. Authorities have vowed to dismantle these well-coordinated scams, which have tarnished Kenya’s reputation in the global gold trade.
DCI Director Mohamed Amin urged investors to conduct due diligence before engaging in gold transactions. “These syndicates operate with alarming sophistication — involving lawyers, foreigners, and registered companies to make the deals appear legitimate. We are determined to break their networks and bring them to justice,” he said.
The crackdown forms part of a wider strategy targeting organised crime, particularly financial scams that exploit Kenya’s role as a gold transit hub in the region.
