209 300
On August 28th, a Kibera court granted the police an extension to determine whether businessman Edwin Oduk will face charges. He’s accused of defrauding a French National of over Sh 12 billion in a cotton minerals business.
During the proceedings before Senior Principal Magistrate Charles Mwaniki, the prosecution requested an extension until September 7th to allow detectives to conclude their investigation into the alleged fraud.
A week prior, Mwaniki had released Oduk on cash bail of Sh 500,000 pending the investigation.
Regarding a miscellaneous application filed by the investigating detectives, the magistrate stated that the prosecution had not presented enough evidence to justify detaining the businessman for the specified duration.
Oduk was apprehended on August 16, 2023, based on accusations of swindling a French National. He had claimed the ability to facilitate the transfer of USD 89 million (equivalent to Sh 12.8 billion) from a fictional account in Gabon to Ghana and Rwanda. Subsequently, he alleged that Kenyan authorities had seized the funds.
Police Detective Inspector Nicolas Njoroge from the Kilimani DCI office testified that Oduk posed a flight risk and was arrested after the complainant reported the alleged fraud to the police.
According to the officer’s affidavit, between July 22, 2022, and August 26, 2023, Oduk and others conspired to steal USD 89,000,000 from William Tuil, a French National, under the guise of transferring funds from Gabon to Rwanda for a cotton minerals business.
The detective explained that due to some transactions occurring in foreign countries, statements from witnesses outside Kenya were pending.
The court learned that funds had been received through untraceable bank accounts, and additional time was necessary to investigate further.
“The respondent informed the complainant that his money was detained at JKIA awaiting clearance by Kenyan authorities. The respondent then requested more money from the complainant to cover storage and transportation expenses, including using a private jet to transport the funds from Qatar to Rwanda,” the court was informed.
However, the promised funds never arrived in Rwanda, where the respondent was anticipating them.
The detectives also expressed the need for extra time to locate additional suspects who remain at large.
The case is set to be mentioned again on September 7th.