The hearing of a criminal case against a High Court advocate and a gold dealer charged with defrauding an American businessman of Ksh 132 million in a fake gold deal, was postponed to July on Tuesday.
Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Rose Ndombi set a fresh hearing date for July 2, 2025
The accused, lawyer Thomas Otieno Ngoe and businessman Nicholas Otieno Ndolo, face three charges: conspiracy to commit a felony, conspiracy to defraud USD 1 million (equivalent to Ksh 132,540,000) from American businessman Seth Adams Bernstein, and forging an East African Mineral Export permit.
The adjournment came after Ngoe and Ndolo’s defense lawyer requested a four-month delay explaining that they had written to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga, asking for a review of the evidence and charges against them with the possibility of withdrawing the charges against Ngoe.
The defense lawyer also cited illness, stating he was unable to proceed with the case, which was scheduled to begin today March 25,2025.
The magistrate granted the adjournment request and scheduled the case for hearing in July when the DPP will also confirm his decision on whether he has approved the withdrawal of the charges against lawyer Ngoe.
In the case, Ngoe and Ndolo are accused of claiming they would sell gold valued at Sh 16 billion to the American businessman.
The complainant reportedly paid KSh 132 million as customs fees for 3,000 kilograms of gold to be shipped from Kenya to Dubai.
The charges state that between February 3 and 11, 2023, the two accused conspired to obtain money by false pretenses, specifically USD 1 million from Bernstein, via Equity Bank’s Yaya Center Branch in Kilimani, Nairobi County.
In another charge, they allegedly defrauded Bernstein by falsely claiming that a company called DSI Mining and Minerals Limited could pay customs duties for the gold shipment.
Ndolo is also accused of forging a Mineral Export permit, purporting it to be a genuine document issued by the East African Community Customs, on May 16, 2022.
According to investigations by DCI detectives, the two conspired to defraud Bernstein of USD 1 million as a down payment for the Ksh 16 billion deal.
The gold was to be sold at USD 41,000 per kilogram, totaling USD 123,000,000.
The court agreed to release both on a bond of Ksh 1 million or a cash bail of Ksh 500,000.
This case is the latest in a series of gold scams in the country, where unsuspecting businessmen have lost millions.
The DCI has since advised foreign nationals interested in purchasing gold from Kenya to consult their embassies and government offices for guidance.
Ngoe and Ndolo were arrested on March 14, 2023, in Kilimani after the American businessman filed a complaint with the DCI regarding the fraud.
The complainant had been introduced to Ndolo as a gold dealer, and funds were transferred into an account under the name Africorp Consultants Limited.
However, the complainant later realized that key documents, such as the customs entry form, were forged.
Ndolo then avoided the complainant, later threatening him with deportation from Kenya.
This prompted the complainant to report the matter to the DCI.
Further investigations revealed that the money had been transferred to other accounts controlled by the suspects.
In addition to the fraud charges, a firearm was recovered from the vehicle the suspects were using.
It is believed the firearm may have been used to commit crimes, and forensic analysis is ongoing to trace its origin.
Ndolo later surrendered to the DCI after learning he was being sought for his involvement in the fraudulent gold deal.
