NAIROBI LAWYER ARRESTED IN KSH.79 MILLION GOLD SCAM TARGETING CANADIAN INVESTOR

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested a Nairobi-based lawyer in connection with a Ksh.79.9 million gold scam targeting a Canadian investor.

Michael Otieno Owano, an advocate and proprietor of Otieno M.O. Law Advocates, was arrested by officers from the DCI’s Operations Support Unit (OSU) for allegedly facilitating a fake gold deal involving 250 kilograms of gold that was purportedly to be shipped to Dubai aboard a private jet.

According to a statement released by the DCI, the victim was first issued a proforma invoice on April 15, 2025, by a company identified as EAI Logistics, amounting to USD 318,400. The funds were wired to Owano’s law firm account. Later, an additional payment of USDT 300,000 was requested and sent to a cryptocurrency wallet. However, no gold was ever delivered to the investor.

Owano’s arrest follows the earlier capture of Francis Talla Ouafo, alias Allain, a Cameroonian national believed to be the mastermind behind the gold fraud syndicate. He was arraigned at the Milimani Chief Magistrate's Court on July 31, 2025.

In a related case, Lupemba Lorenzi Olivier, a Congolese national, was also arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts for a separate fake gold deal targeting a Gabonese investor. The court granted detectives a seven-day custodial order to allow further investigations. The case is scheduled for mention on August 13, 2025.

Another suspect, Kelvin Otieno Onyango, also known as Kevo Sonko, was arrested for his alleged role in the same fraudulent scheme. He is reported to be the director of SwiftTaxis Logistics Ltd and is said to have hosted the Canadian investor during the negotiations and formalization of the fake transaction. The investor is reported to have transferred USD 140,000 (approximately Ksh.18 million) into an escrow account controlled by the suspects.

All suspects are currently in custody and are undergoing processing pending their arraignment in court. DCI says efforts are ongoing to dismantle the wider network behind the transnational gold fraud syndicate.