The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has apprehended four Chinese nationals in Nairobi over an alleged SIM-swapping and money-laundering scheme.
In a statement by the DCI, the directorate disclosed that the arrests followed a complaint from a businesswoman who discovered that two of her phone lines had suddenly stopped working.
The unexpected loss of service left her unable to make calls or use mobile money, prompting her to report the matter to police.
“Four Chinese nationals have been arrested in Nairobi following investigations into a sophisticated fraud scheme involving SIM swapping and money laundering, after a businesswomanβs mobile lines were hijacked and used to receive illicit funds,β the statement read.
Detectives from DCI Parklands then launched investigations and began tracing activity associated with the affected lines.
Investigators found that the numbers had allegedly been used to receive funds from a gaming and betting platform.
The money was subsequently transferred through several mobile numbers and bank accounts linked to the suspects, with the trail eventually leading detectives to the four.
The four suspects were arraigned before the Kibra Chief Magistrateβs Court with a ruling on their bond application scheduled for Friday, September 4.
