A Congolese national has been arraigned before a Nairobi court for allegedly defrauding two Dubai companies of over Sh 18 million in a fake gold sale deal.
Lupemba Lorenzi Olivier was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina under a miscellaneous application where the police sought orders to detain him for 10 days to conclude investigations.
The court heard that Olivier was arrested on 31st July 2025 by the DCI Operations Support Unit.
According to an affidavit by Sergeant Samuel Itegi, on 3rd June 2025, the complainant, Ulrich Kenney, a foreigner and holder of a Gabonese passport, while in the company of Mekalih Tifre Masho, an Eritrean national, reported the said allegations to the DCI in June 2025 at Capitol Hill Police Station.
The court heard that both complainants were representatives of foreign investment companies.
Kenney represented Hala Diamond Gold Trading, while Masho represented Jonro Global Trading LLC, both based in Dubai.
It is alleged that the two travelled to Kenya from Uganda on 27th February 2025 in search of investment opportunities in the gold business and, on arrival, met Ali, a Kenyan friend and businessman, who then introduced them to the respondent.
Ali had allegedly contacted Olivier, who confirmed to them that there was genuine gold available for sale and suggested that they have a physical meeting, which was done the following day at the Shell petrol station along State House Road.
The money Sergeant Itegi said that at the meeting, the parties discussed the pricing of the said gold, arriving at a price of between USD 65,000 and USD 70,000 per kilo before saying that the quantities available would be discussed in their offices in the presence of his brother, who would be able to attend the meeting.
On 10th April 2025, the two complainants, in the company of their friend Ali, were instructed by the respondent to proceed to an office located on the 6th floor at Wu-yi Plaza within Kilimani, where, on arrival, they met him, his alleged brother Eric and two other unknown individuals introduced as Eric’s shipping agents – Peter and Benold.
“At the said meeting, the two complainants expressed their interest in purchasing 40 kgs of gold, where each of their companies was to receive 20 kgs,” the investigator told the court.
It was agreed that the transaction would be safeguarded by a 5 kg gold collateral to cover any logistical fees that would be paid upfront to the seller, Eric.
The sergeant added, “Based on this agreement, each company represented by the two complainants was to enter a distinct and separate sales and purchase agreement to buy 20 kgs of gold with the seller’s agent company, Swifttaxis Logistics Limited.”
According to court documents, Hala Diamond made a purchase price of USD 140,000 through a wire transfer from the complainant’s Citi Bank account domiciled in Switzerland to in the names of Kadiki & Advocate, as instructed by the seller.
It is alleged that they were later provided with 5 kg of gold collateral, which was deposited in the joint custody of both the seller and the buyers at First Monetary Security Limited, where they made a further payment of Sh 180,000 through a Safaricom Till Number.
However, despite making all the payments as required, the seller has never delivered any gold to the complainants, prompting them to make a formal complaint to the police.
The DCI wanted more time to subject the exhibit mobile phone to forensic analysis.
Sergeant Itegi added that they needed time to verify the home address of the respondent and to arrest other suspects still at large.
He told the court that releasing Olivier on bail at this point could jeopardise ongoing investigations.
