NAIROBI CITY: Three individuals are currently detained in Nairobi after they were arrested by detectives for scamming two foreign nationals out of Ksh 340 million in a fake gold deal.

The scam began in June 2022 when Mr. Marco Colombo Conti, a business associate of Mr. Satbinder Singh, traveled to Kenya intending to purchase 100 kg of gold from Mr. Allain Mwadia Nvita.

Initially, Mr. Marco paid about $400,000 in duty and other charges through a law firm named Squire AfriLaw Consult Limited.

In return for covering these charges, he was given 12 kg of gold, which the seller said he could carry as hand luggage and sell to recover the funds and any other fees incurred during the transaction.

However, just before Marco was about to leave, the seller informed him that he could not take the 12 kg of gold since it was part of the larger 112 kg consignment he was purchasing.

The seller advised him to store the gold safely in a safe box at Mysafe Vaults at the Village Market in Gigiri, Nairobi, which Marco accepted.

Convinced that the gold deal was still viable, Marco left Kenya and returned on February 5, 2024, with Mr. Satbinder Singh, who was also interested in buying the gold.

Upon arrival, Satbinder was introduced to Allain Mwadia Nvita, the gold seller, as well as Lehman John Raymond, Daniel Ogot of Patvad Trading Co. Ltd, and Frank Kateti, a Tanzanian agent.

The team discussed the possibility of buying the 112 kg consignment.

Allain Mwadia convinced them that he was willing to provide 31 kg of gold to be carried out of the country, covering the money Marco had paid in 2022 and any further expenses Satbinder would incur while shipping the 112 kg after purchasing it.