The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has apprehended a woman linked to a gold scam that saw American investor lose Ksh55.7 million.
According to a statement by the DCI, the victim had been promised delivery of 400 kilograms of gold bars in a fraudulent transaction
“A woman believed to be the mastermind behind a gold scam that fleeced an American national of USDT 431,380 has been arrested by detectives domiciled at the DCI Nairobi Regional Headquarters,” the statement from the authority read.
Detectives revealed that the American national travelled to Nairobi to finalise the deal after a series of negotiations with individuals posing as genuine gold dealers.
DCI added that the agreements and documents were prepared to make the transaction appear legitimate before the investor transferred Ksh55,752,334 into accounts linked to the suspects.
After the deal was finalised, the victim expected the shipment to be delivered as agreed upon, once the funds were sent to the accounts provided by the alleged dealers.
However, the suspects went silent shortly after the transfer was completed and stopped responding to the investor’s communication.
This was when the investor realised the shipment would not be delivered and reported the matter to officers from the DCI.
This prompted the police to launch investigations and trace the suspects through forensic leads gathered during the probe.
The investigations led officers to Crystal Villas in Kilimani, where the detectives arrested the woman during an operation.
However, another suspect managed to escape during the operation, reportedly abandoning a vehicle that was seized and towed to the Nairobi Regional Headquarters yard as part of the investigation.
The suspect was taken into custody pending arraignment in court.
