A Benin National, implicated in Sh 700M gold fraud has been detained for ten days to allow the police to complete investigations.
Salem Frejus Hector Joyau Ahossi appeared before Milimani Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina where the prosecution made an application to detain him for 14 days.
In an affidavit sworn by Sergeant Charles Odhiambo,there is crucial leads for more recoveries and arrests thus releasing the suspect would jeopardize the ongoing investigations.
Odhiambo said that they are also concerned that he may escape Jurisdiction of the court since he is a Benin National who has a Canadian Permanent Residency and has no fixed place of abode in Kenya.
“We want to liaise with Embassies of foreign countries mentioned in the Fraud and our Interpol offices in order to process the respondent legally due to the complicated nature of the investigations,”added Odhiambo in his affidavit.
He said they also require more time to subject two mobile phones recovered from the respondent to forensic analysis and they also want to trace and record statements from the unsuspecting foreign investors that are currently dealing actively with the suspect and his agents.
The suspect was arrested on October 25,2024 and booked into custody at Capital Hill Police Station video OB 2/25/2024 in connection to alleged offenses of conspiracy to commit a felony against the law and obtaining money by false pretenses contrary to section 313 of penal code.
The matter was first reported to Capital Hill Police Station on September 27,2024 vide OB 44/27/2024 by Maxine Harouna Sawadogo,a holder of Canadian of passport No HM 749985 in the company of ATINHO DASSOUNDO ,a holder of Canadian Passport No.AA687858.
The complainant alleges that he was persuaded by the suspect and introduced into a Gold sale and purchase transaction on August 17,2022 back in Canada where they both attend the same church Christ en Action Evangelization.
At that time,the complainant had known the suspect for a period of about three months out of their interactions in the Chapel.
He informed the complainant that he had business partners in Africa who had a lot of Gold available for sale and he had at the same time identified buyers of the said Gold who were Belgium Nationals and so the only thing that was missing was an investment in the processing of the Gold in preparation for its sale.
The suspect informed the complainant that the Gold owners were offering the consignment for sale at a price of USD 35,000 per kilo and further that once the sale is done and profits are realized,he was willing to share the profits with the Investor on 50/50 basis.
The respondent later sent the complainant the profit estimates assuming they had invested in processing 100kgs of Gold which statistics showed that they would realize a profit of 2,061,512.5 Euros.
According to police, the complainant paid over Ksh.700 million in order to acquire a 490-kilogram gold consignment to be sold in Belgium.
“That during this time some of the payments have been done through bank transfers on instructions of the respondent, to his agents and associates while at other times he instructed the complainant to send the money through the informal Hawala system,” official court documents read in part.
It is said that the complainant trusted the suspect as a brother from his church and their business was blessed by the Pastor.
Money Transfer.
As per an affidavit filed in court, Ahossi informed the complainant that he had business partners in Africa who had a lot of gold available for sale and he had at the same time identified buyers of the said gold who were Belgian nationals and so the only thing that was missing was an investment in the processing of the gold in preparation for its sale.
The gold owners were offering the consignment for sale at a price of USD 35,000 per kilo and further that once the sale was done and profits realized, he was willing to share the profit with the investor on a 50/50 basis.
The suspect later sent the complainant the profit estimate assuming they had invested in processing 100 Kgs of gold which statistics showed that they would realize profit of 2,061,512.5 Euros.
Officer Odhiambo in his affidavit continued that the respondent further told the complainant that his African partners were capable of transacting 8,000 Kgs of gold in a period of six months which translated into a potential profits margin of over 270,000,000 Canadian dollars.
The complainant, having developed an interest in the business, took an initiative of visiting to familiarize himself with the respondent’s residence in Canada and the respondent did the same before they went together to their pastor whom they briefed about the business opportunity they intended to pursue.
According to the affidavit by the investigating officer, Ahossi and the complainant later had a meeting at the church compound where he made a proposal that they should begin by processing a consignment of 200 Kgs if he could raise the money stating that it was by God’s Grace that they had met and that within a short period of time he would rise a lot financially.
The court heard that on the 31st August, 2022, the complainant issued his company cheque (Royal Bank of Canada) for an amount of USD 631,435 in the names of Salem Frejus Hector Ahossi (the respondent)
By this time, the respondent had now disclosed that the Gold consignment would come from Accra, Ghana where the seller was based and that the complainant was a passive partner in the first and second transactions of 200 Kgs and 500 Kgs meaning, he would not accompany him to Ghana for the transaction but would only provide the funds.
After the money was sent, Ahossi was not able to access the funds sent by the complainant from the bank since after analysis, the bank found the amounts transferred inconsistent with the limits the respondent transacted normally since the account was opened.
According to the investigator, the respondent, in a change of tact, convinced the complainant that the money should be sent directly to the seller in Ghana and provided him with an account held at Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited in the names of Adjafash Company Limited who was said to be the agent.
On the 1st September, 2022, the complainant successfully transferred an amount of USD 489,971.22 but curiously the respondent instructed him to indicate the reasons for this transfer as being for the “Purchase of Farm Produce” allegedly to avoid complications.
The court heard that later, Ahossi acknowledged receipt of the amounts sent via Whatsapp and sent the complainant photos of himself in a flight headed to Ghana where upon landing, he also provided videos of him and the consignment.
“This was the beginning of the journey of a gold transaction that has lasted over two years of the respondent and his associates based in Ghana giving excuses to the complainant who has over that period spent approximately USD 5,478,417.70 (apprx. Sh 706,332,303.81) in an attempt to process for sale a 490 Kgs gold consignment to be sold in Belgium.
The officer noted that during this period, some of the payments have been done through bank transfers, on instructions of the respondent, to his agents and associates while at other times, he instructed the complainant to send the money through the informal Hawala System.
The complainant was later told that the Gold was in Kenya because but upon arriving in the country,he was not shown the consignment.
He suspected malice and reported the matter.
