Suspects in fake gold fraud out on bond
By Nancy.Gitonga, October 18, 2023
Seven suspects, including a law enforcement officer at the centre of the Sh1 billion fake gold deal were yesterday released on a Sh1 million bond.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina freed the seven suspects: Cameroonian Nelson Fru Che and Liberian Ronald Johnson, Constable Festo Akula Wamwayi, Alice Kavata, Ian Wekesa Milongo and Duncan Muchai Ndichu after several charges levelled against them by the Prosecution.
“I declined to grant the request to have the accused released on bond terms of Sh20,000 and Sh100,000 since the circumstances of the case have been charged and the offences facing them are serious. I order each of the accused persons to deposit a bond of Sh1 million or a cash bail of Sh500,00,” Onyina ordered.
The seven were charged with defrauding a Tunisian businessman BIlel Arfaoul Sh59.8 million in a fake gold deal.
In a charge sheet filed in court yesterday the seven denied charges of conspiracy to defraud the foreigner trader, being in possession of 634,178 forged US dollar currency notes and 16,000 pieces of papers intended for making bank notes, being unlawful present in Kenya, being in possession of a firearm and ammunition without.
They denied that on September 7 at Villa Mawe in Garden Estate Muthangari within Nairobi county, with others not before court conspired to defraud $400,000 from Tunisia trader Arfaoul.
The DCI officer Wamwayi was separately charged with being in possession of a firearm make ceska pistol and sixteen round of9 mm caliber ammunition without a valid licence.
Che and Johnson, who are both foreigners, were further charged with being in the country illegally.