In our second series of the thriving con game involving fake gold trade in the city involving Nyakach constituency Member of Parliament (MP) candidate who is vying on an independent ticket Jonathan Okoth Opande, fresh details have emerged that the city trader indeed scammed a South African national Sh21million.
Marie Nel, the victim of well-orchestrated fraud was linked to her would-be scammers by a lady identified as Thoko Moyo touted to be the link of Opande’s preys.
Further, the flamboyant trader is said to run a non-existent airline, Plummet Cargo and runs two offices both at Wilson Airport and Lavington in Nairobi.
The fake and sale agreement contact was drafted through Abisai Global Limited.
has been implicated in a gold scamming syndicate and defrauding a South African national Sh25million.
The politician who is still battling another Sh25million similar law suit is said to have committed the offence in October 2019 alongside Charles Omollo.
Okoth, is alleged to have presented himself as a gold vendor and conned Marie using Thoko Moyo as the intermediary.
According to records seen by The Informer, Opande received part of the payment US Dollars $145,691.36 through a Wilson Airport based firm, firm Plummet Cargo.
According to a flight manifest presented to the victim, the consignment was to be flown to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aboard Gulf Stream GIV aircraft.
This is said to have happened on October 19, 2019, where he presented an aircraft charter quotation through a cargo company, Plummet Cargo Limited, to the complainant.
The controversial politician-cum businessman who lost the Nyakach nominations to Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) candidate after coming distant third is not new to the dubious gold cartel cases.
The 32-year-old man is also facing a court case for obtaining Sh25.7million by falsely pretending he was in a position to sell 250 kilograms of gold.
On April 6, 2022, Okoth and Steve Ochieng Odhiambo, who is currently at large with an arrest warrant issued against him, appeared before Magistrate Susan Shitubi of Milimani Law Courts to answer to the charges.
According to the prosecution’s report, the accused persons organized an informal business meeting with Samuel Olaleye Adeyeni who is the complainant in the matter.
This is said to have happened at Lagos hotel in Nairobi between January 19 and February 18, 2019, where he presented a gold trading company to the complainant claiming to be one of the directors.
However, they both denied the charges and were released on a cash bail of Sh300,000 and were directed to surrender their passport to the court.
Last year, Okoth was also involved in a Chinese gold scam scandal where his role was to coordinate the delivery and export of the 125 kilograms of gold from Tanzania.
Chui Bing Sung from Hong Kong, China was introduced to Elijah Murenzi Maliba alias Brian Otieno Oliende, who claimed to be a Congolese, by a fellow Chinese named Chien Hoe Yong.
According to court papers, Maliba claimed to be a director and a majority shareholder of Ngeweshe Mining Company Limited, a company registered in DRC and allegedly affiliated to Ngeweshe Mining Group Limited in Kenya.
When they met, Maliba had documents allegedly signed by shareholders and letters from DRC embassy in Kenya, all of which were later found to be fake.
Sung wired Sh10million ($94,000) to an account in Credit Bank registered under the name Brian Otieno Oliende.
The amount was for 105 kilograms of gold from DRC, that was set to be shipped from DRC to Nairobi on July 19, 2020, before being rerouted to Hong Kong through Istanbul, Turkey. Skyway Cargo, a shipping firm based in Kenya, was mandated to execute the deal.
On November 10, 2020, another 350 kilograms would be shipped from DRC to Nairobi, then to Dubai to Hong Kong, through Kenyan charter company, Travelvog.
On the same day, another consignment of 50 kilograms was to be shipped through Emirates Flight EK722, accompanied by Yong.
Yong instructed him (Sung) to deposit Sh597 million ($5.5 million) to an escrow account at National Bank, which was done 17 tranches.
For the gold from Tanzania, Yong claimed he had tax refunds from Tanzania Revenue Authority amounting to Sh40 billion, which he needed some cash to process. As a result, Sung lend him at least Sh2.5 million on different occasions through different financial institutions.
Okoth was roped in, whose role was to coordinate the delivery and export of the 125 kilograms of gold from Tanzania.
For the transaction, Sung paid Sh28 million ($266,800) in an escrow account held by Osewe Alphonce Collins Opiyo at United Bank for Africa Kenya Limited, in addition to Sh18 million ($167,200) to an account under the name Kenedy Anyanga at Stanbic Bank Kenya.
None of the gold consignments were delivered, according to court submissions.