Nairobi — Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) have arrested a second suspect in connection with a high-stakes gold scam that saw an American investor swindled out of USD 217,900 (approximately Sh28 million) in a deal that promised glittering gold bars but delivered nothing more than dust.
The suspect, Mohammed Noor Muhyadhin Mohammed, a Nairobi-based businessman and sole proprietor of Mohazcom Trading, was apprehended as investigators widened their probe into what authorities describe as a well-orchestrated money laundering scheme.
His arrest follows that of Willis Onyango Wasonga, alias "Marcus," who was arraigned on February 16, 2026, at the Milimani Law Courts.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Mohammed allegedly received the full USD 217,900 through his company account at the National Bank of Kenya on February 3, 2026.
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The funds had been debited from accounts belonging to MOAC Advocates, also held at the same bank, and were purportedly meant as payment for 495 kilograms of gold that was never delivered.
Detectives say that within hours of receiving the funds, Mohammed wired the entire sum to accounts held by Tecno Mobile Limited at Citibank in Hong Kong, allegedly to facilitate a shipment of mobile phones that has yet to arrive in Kenya.
Investigations further revealed that Mohammed has maintained a decade-long business relationship with a forex bureau located along Standard Street in Nairobi. Authorities believe the bureau, working closely with its proprietor, may have played a central role in facilitating cross-border transfers linked to the suspected laundering of the proceeds.
In what detectives describe as an attempt to legitimize the suspicious transaction, MOAC Advocates presented a debt settlement agreement purportedly signed between Mohammed and another suspect still at large.
However, investigators have dismissed the document as a smokescreen crafted to conceal a fraudulent enterprise.
Mohammed remains in custody pending arraignment as detectives pursue three additional suspects believed to be part of the syndicate.
Web of Deception
The case stems from a complaint lodged at Capitol Hill Police Station by Gershonov Oleg on behalf of his American business partner, John Sodipo, who had sought to purchase and charter 495 kilograms of gold to Dubai.
Investigations indicate that Oleg first visited Kenya in September 2025 in pursuit of a gold transaction that ultimately failed to materialize. During that trip, he established contact with alleged gold dealers, including Wasonga, now considered the principal suspect.
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Subsequent negotiations led Sodipo to deposit the agreed chartering fees into a purported escrow account managed by advocate Michael Otieno Owano of MOAC Advocates. Oleg later returned to Kenya to oversee the shipment.
But as delays mounted and no consignment materialized, the investors realized they had fallen victim to what detectives now describe as a calculated gold scam layered with sophisticated money laundering tactics.
Authorities say the suspects' modus operandi involved an elaborate façade, including the use of SRK Logistics Limited, which allegedly misrepresented its capacity to supply gold.
Fictitious legal agreements were reportedly generated to lend credibility to the transactions and create the illusion of legitimate commercial dealings.
Funds were allegedly moved swiftly between company accounts before being transferred overseas a pattern investigators say bears the classic hallmarks of money laundering, including layering and concealment of proceeds of crime.
Wasonga, who had secured anticipatory bail at the High Court before presenting himself at DCI Headquarters on February 13, 2026, was later arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts.
He pleaded not guilty and was granted a bond of Sh1 million with two contact persons or an alternative cash bail of Sh350,000. The case is scheduled for mention on March 3, 2026.
