The court has permitted an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Nordin Haji that was seeking to extradite Abdulrahman Imraan Juma to the US to face charges of money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
In the case, the alleged is said to have defrauded the victim over 1,124,426.36 US dollars from November 2019 to April 2020.
While allowing the application, Senior Principal Magistrate Robinson Ondieki found that there was no evidence to show that Juma will not receive a fair trial at the United States. The court also said that the investigations have been done by US agencies and the witnesses are not within the country hence allowing the extradition of the Kenyan origin to be arraigned in the United States over money laundering allegations.
“The prosecution has laid down the threshold for Juma to be extradited to the US for a fair trial,” the magistrate ruled.
Juma has been charged with up to 61 counts of money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in the US District Court for the Central District of California.
He is a key suspect in a global fraud scheme that set out to deceive a businessman looking to invest 15 million dollars in a plan to establish an international school in Qatar.
It is also claimed that he conspired with Nigerian influencer Ramon Abbas, commonly known by the stage name Hushpuppi, to scam the founder of the Qatari institution.
According to a report that was handed to the court, Juma is claimed to have dropped out of school owing to truancy and has strong ties to both Tanzania and Uganda, where he began his education, and travels often.
Three of his accused collaborators are currently being tried in the US after being indicted.
According to documents submitted by the DPP in Nairobi, Juma and his associates preyed on businessmen headquartered in the US and Qatar by convincing them that they could provide loans worth millions of dollars.
Juma had requested a stay of the orders through his attorneys, but the magistrate denied his request because the court was only reciting the trial court’s decision.
The judge also determined that there was no evidence presented in court that Juma would not receive a fair trial in the US. The court also mentioned that three fugitives are currently beingdetained in the US while they await trial.
“The US will accord him a fair trial, I hereby allow an application by the state and order that he be taken to the US to face trial,” the court ruled.
The court additionally ordered that the subject be brought up before the trial court on Monday for additional guidance.