Lawyer Nabbed in $618K Gold Scam
The DCI assures that it is determined to dismantle the complex web of scammers behind Kenya’s recurring false gold export scams,
The suspect, Michael Otieno Owano, is an attorney and proprietor of Otieno M.O. Law Advocates. According to the investigators, he was the leading player in a fake gold deal in 250 kilograms of gold. Photo/ KBC Digital
By Juliet Jerotich
Kenyan authorities have arrested one of the lawyers who were part of a multimillion-shilling gold scam that swindled a Canadian national of USD 618,000. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) indicates that the arrest is part of an expanded crackdown on transnational gold cons against foreign investors.
The suspect, Michael Otieno Owano, is an attorney and proprietor of Otieno M.O. Law Advocates. According to the investigators, he was the leading player in a fake gold deal in 250 kilograms of gold, which was claimed to be intended for export to Dubai on a private jet.
The DCI states that the victim was tricked to remit vast sums of money in a well-crafted scam. On April 15, 2025, the victim was presented with a proforma invoice of USD 318,400 by one company called EAI Logistics. The money was remitted directly to the account of Owano’s law firm. Later, the victim was instructed to remit USDT 300,000 to a crypto wallet. Never did the victim receive any gold.
Owano’s arrest follows the earlier detention of Francis Talla Ouafo, alias Allain, a Cameroonian who was suspected to be the mastermind of the syndicate. Ouafo was arraigned at the Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court on July 31, 2025.
In another but simultaneous swindle, detectives arrested Lupemba Lorenzi Olivier, a Congolese national, for an alleged fictitious gold deal against a Gabonese investor. He was taken before the Milimani Law Courts, where police got a seven-day remand order to complete investigations. The case will be mentioned again on August 13, 2025.
The second suspect, Kelvin Otieno Onyango, alias Kevo Sonko, was arrested for his role in the Canadian investor’s case. Onyango is said to be the director of SwiftTaxis Logistics Ltd. Detectives say that the complainant was taken to Onyango’s office, where negotiations and the finalization of the deal were carried out. The victim then transferred USD 140,000 to an escrow account.
The suspects are all under detention as other members of the network are tracked by detectives. The DCI assures that it is determined to dismantle the complex web of scammers behind Kenya’s recurring false gold export scams, which have caused foreign investors to lose millions of dollars.
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