A middle-aged man was on Monday arraigned before a Nairobi court, accused of defrauding a foreign company of USD 265,200 (approximately KSh38.1 million) in a bogus gold transaction involving 580 kilograms of non-existent gold.
Orao Shikalo, also known as Vincent Oloa Wanton, appeared before Milimani Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi, where he denied two criminal charges of conspiracy to commit a felony and obtaining money by false pretenses from a foreign firm, Asianic Limited.
According to the charge sheet, Shikalo and others, some already before court, are alleged to have conspired between February 1 and August 2, 2024, to defraud the company by falsely claiming they could supply 580 kg of gold, despite knowing this to be untrue.
“On diverse dates between February 1, 2024, and August 2, 2024, at Nairobi City County, jointly with another already arraigned before court, conspired to commit a felony namely stealing a sum of 265,200 US dollars… by falsely pretending that you were in a position to sell 580 kilograms of gold,” the charge sheet read in part.
In a second count, the prosecution stated that between February 1 and August 2, 2025, within Nairobi County, the accused again obtained the money under false pretenses, continuing the fraudulent claim about the gold sale.
Shikalo pleaded for lenient bail terms, telling the court he was unemployed and the sole caregiver to his ailing mother.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) did not object to his release on bond, referencing his co-accused who had previously been granted cash bail of KSh800,000 or a KSh3 million bond.
Magistrate Ekhubi agreed to the request and ordered Shikalo’s release under the same bail terms.
The court also directed that the matter be transferred to Court 7 for consolidation with related files.
The case will be mentioned on July 28, 2025.
