By Grace Gilo
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Operations Support Unit have apprehended Julius Kirimi Muthuri and German national Richard Olaf Heinig at the Red Ruby Hotel located along Ojijo Road in Parklands.
The two suspects are believed to have defrauded a Swiss national of over Ksh 52 million and were poised to extract additional funds from him today when the detectives intervened.
According to the DCI, the victim became entangled with the scammers after receiving information from his ailing father, who had previously worked in Ghana that about twenty years ago, his father had acquired property in Ghana, which he later sold, leaving the proceeds in the custody of a trustee in Ghana.
“The victim fell into the hands of the two scammers after he was informed by his ailing father who had worked in Ghana that about twenty years ago, he acquired some property in Ghana which he later sold and left the proceeds under the custody of a trustee in Ghana,” wrote the DCI on X.
In his quest to reclaim this asset, the victim connected with a Ghanaian lady named Mamee Efua Esong, who acted as a translator during the original transaction and arranged to meet her in 2020.
This woman asserted her familiarity with the father’s past dealings and informed the victim that the proceeds from the property sale amounted to USD 62.8 million.
However, she claimed that a special purpose company was necessary to facilitate the transfer of these funds.
The Swiss national was misled into establishing a company intended for the transfer of the money to his home country, but not before he was coerced into paying various taxes and facilitation fees to the scammers in Ghana, Dubai, Tanzania, Uganda, and eventually Kenya, all under the pretense of moving his father’s assets to Switzerland.
“The Swiss national was tricked into registering a company that was to be used to transfer the money to his home country but not before paying taxes and facilitation money to the scammers in Ghana, Dubai, Tanzania, Uganda and later Kenya all in a bid to have his father’s consignment move to Switzerland,” DCI revealed.
While in Kenya, he was introduced to Mr. Richard Olaf Heinig, who subsequently partnered with Mr. Julius Muthuri Kirimi in November 2023 who claimed to own Lawsam Security Company, which was purportedly contracted to transport and store the cargo, allegedly inspected and stored at a Nairobi airport.
The victim was later denied access to the containers, compelling him to pay approximately USD 400,000 in facilitation fees to the suspects.
After exhausting his resources, the victim realized he had been defrauded and lodged a complaint with the Kenyan Mission in Switzerland.
This matter was subsequently referred to the DCI through the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, leading to an investigation and the arrest of the scammers.
“After spending a fortune, he realized that he had been scammed and he filed a complaint at the Kenyan Mission in Switzerland. The matter was referred to the DCI through the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs where the investigations leading to the arrest of the scammers were commenced,” stated the DCI.