A man who allegedly posed as a gold dealer capable of smelting and exporting nearly half a tonne of gold to Dubai stood before a Nairobi magistrate on Monday and denied defrauding an American lawyer of USD 250,500(equivalent to Sh32,314,500) in what investigators are calling a sophisticated transnational fraud and money laundering scheme.
Willis Onyango Wesonga, who allegedly operated under the alias Marcus Wesonga, was arraigned at the Chief Magistrate’s Milimani Law Courts on February 16,2026 facing four counts, two relating to obtaining money by false pretences and two others tied to money laundering offences under Kenya’s Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Prosecutors allege that between January 1 and February 3, 2026, Wesonga, acting jointly with others not yet before court, convinced John Sodipo, a principal at the US-based Sodipo Law Group, that he had the capacity to smelt and ship 495 kilograms of gold from Kenya to Dubai.
Sodipo, relying on that representation, wired USD 250,500 as chartering fees into what was presented as a legitimate escrow account.
The account, prosecutors say, was held under National Bank account number 7718484270 in the name of MOAC Advocates LLP, a law firm investigators allege was used as a front to launder the proceeds.
Count One charges Wesonga under the Penal Code with obtaining the funds through fraud. Count Two mirrors the allegation under Section 313 of the Penal Code, which deals specifically with obtaining money by false pretences.
Counts Three and Four, with an alternative count, charge him under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act No. 9 of 2009, accusing him of acquiring, using, and possessing the USD 250,500 while knowing or having reason to believe it constituted proceeds of crime.
Court documents and investigative disclosures paint a picture of a carefully engineered scheme.
According to investigators, the scheme began taking shape in September 2025 when Gershonov Oleg, a business associate of Sodipo, first visited Kenya and established contact with Wesonga and other alleged gold dealers.
Negotiations for the purchase and subsequent shipment of 495 kilograms of gold to Dubai followed, with Sodipo eventually depositing the agreed chartering fees into what was presented as an escrow account managed by advocate Michael Otieno Owano of MOAC Advocates LLP.
Oleg flew back to Kenya to personally oversee the shipment, but the consignment never materialised.
Detectives say the suspects’ operation involved SRK Logistics Limited, a logistics firm allegedly misrepresenting its capacity to supply gold, alongside fictitious legal representation agreements designed to give the scheme an air of legitimacy.
Investigations further revealed that funds were swiftly moved between company accounts before being transferred overseas, a pattern investigators describe as bearing the hallmarks of classic money laundering, including layering and concealment of proceeds of crime.
Investigators say the operation was underpinned by fictitious legal representation agreements engineered to project legitimacy, and by SRK Logistics Limited, a logistics firm allegedly used to misrepresent the suspects’ capacity to supply and export gold.
Once the funds landed, detectives allege they were rapidly moved between accounts and transferred overseas in a pattern consistent with layering, a key stage in money laundering designed to obscure the origins of illicit funds.
Oleg subsequently reported the matter at Capitol Hill Police Station, naming Wesonga as the central figure in the scheme.
With detectives closing in, Wesonga moved proactively, securing anticipatory bail from the High Court before voluntarily presenting himself at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations Headquarters on February 13, 2026, to record a statement.
Three days later, he was formally arraigned.
The court on Monday released him on a bond of Ksh. 1 million with two contact sureties, or a cash bail alternative of Ksh. 350,000.
Prosecution is being handled by IP Nicholas Njoroce of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Four witnesses have been listed: John Sodipo, Gershonov Oleg, Qamar Farah Sheikh, and Ali Osman Kulow.
Investigators say the case is far from closed. Additional suspects linked to the scheme are actively being pursued, and the matter is set to return to court for mention on March 2, 2026.
