Tricks used in the fake gold murky industry in Kenyan by bogus dealers to con unsuspecting genuine buyers of their millions of shillings can now be revealed.
Police sources, victims and close sources to the players, plus perusing of police statements and court documents have revealed how these phoney dealers have perfected their con game that is fast gaining currency in Kenya.
This despite the fact that in Kenya only one company – Aurical Kenya – is authorized to engage in gold business.
So how do these fraudsters manage to swindle such huge amounts of money, running into of millions of shillings? Here is how:
1. Aliases and fake names – Imagine meeting someone who presents you with his passport – which looks quite unauthentic – over a business deal only for you to learn later on – with your millions of shillings gone – that no such person exists.
This is what happened to Mr Simon Aldofo Ortega after he lost Sh170 million to a Nairobi-based suspected fraudster.
It is after he reported the matter at Parklands Police Station on June 30, that Mr Ortega realized that he had been tricked.
Police statements presented in court on June 2, 2017 told the court that suspect used several aliases to conceal his real identity.
“This trick is what is used in order for one to hide their real identities. It is of help mostly in courts and the suspects can deny that they were in anyway involved in the deals and again it is used to hide the past,” said our source.
2. The DRC connection – Some of the fraudsters are said to work in cahoots with nationals of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who pretend to own huge amount of gold stored at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The Congolese nationals are believable because their mineral-rich central African country is known for exporting gold.
In January 2019, Mr Vladimir Borisenko, 41, told the media that he had lost Sh20 million to fraudsters, who included a Congolese identified as Amisi Bin Ramazani, who, according to the suspect, was working in collaboration with Kenyan accomplices.
3. Fake success stories – “Just google my name and you will realise that I’m a known businessman. Apart from engaging in the minerals business I also run high-end joints in Nairobi,” are words one of the fraudsters used on Mr Vladimir Borisenko.
When Mr Borisenko decided to google the said name, he was convinced that he was dealing with a genuine dealer because one of the suspect’s “business associates” had even contested for a parliamentary seat in Nairobi. That is how he ended up being conned of his millions.
Another common success story is the flashy lifestyle that some of the suspects present to the public or on social media, characterized by moving around in expensive cars and choppers as well their perceived as close ties with powerful politicians.
4. Learned friends – Sources have revealed to Nairobi News that some prominent lawyers have played a part in these shady business deals.
The lawyers are often used as decoys to convince targeted suspects that the business deal is genuine.
“Their (lawyers) job is to make the buyer confident and assure him that all is well. Unknown to the suspects, the lawyers are usually part of the scam,” our source said.