Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has ramped up its war against transnational fake gold syndicates accused of conning foreign investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through elaborate scams.

In the latest development, detectives from the Operations Support Unit (OSU) arrested Michael Otieno Owano, an advocate and proprietor of Otieno M.O. Law Advocates, for allegedly orchestrating a high-stakes fraud that cost a Canadian investor USD 618,000 (about KSh 80 million).

The victim was duped into a fictitious deal to export 250 kilograms of gold to Dubai aboard a private jet.

On April 15, 2025, a proforma invoice of USD 318,400 was issued by EAI Logistics, with the money wired directly to Owano’s law firm account.

Later, the investor was instructed to transfer an additional USDT 300,000 to a cryptocurrency wallet—but no gold was ever delivered.

Owano’s arrest comes hot on the heels of the July 31 capture of Francis Talla Ouafo—alias Allain—a Cameroonian national believed to be the mastermind of the syndicate.

He was arraigned at the Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court.

In a related case, Lupemba Lorenzi Olivier, a Congolese national, appeared before the Milimani Law Courts over a separate scam targeting a Gabonese investor.

Detectives have been granted seven days to finalise investigations, with the case set for mention on August 13, 2025.

Meanwhile, Kelvin Otieno Onyango, alias Kevo Sonko, the alleged director of SwiftTaxis Logistics Ltd, is also in custody.

Investigators say the complainant was taken to his office to negotiate and formalise the fake gold deal before wiring USD 140,000 into an escrow account.