A New York businesswoman claims she was defrauded of approximately $22,000 (Ksh 29 million) by a manager of a Nairobi-based money transfer agency, sparking a major investigation into the fraudulent scheme.
Rahma Abdullahi, a daycare operator and mother of four from Minneapolis, alleges that she was scammed in a high-stakes investment deal involving a hawala branch.
The incident, which has caught the attention of both U.S. and Kenyan authorities, paints a chilling picture of how a trusted business relationship turned into a nightmare of deceit.
According to Abdullahi’s complaint, the trouble began when her father introduced her to a senior officer at the agency in Nairobi, who promised to facilitate cross-border transactions between the United States and Kenya.
The officer assured Rahma that she could invest in a new hawala branch and receive a 20% stake in the venture in exchange for an investment of $100,000 (Ksh 13 million).
The officer claimed the business would be up and running quickly, with substantial returns guaranteed in a short amount of time.
For Rahma, who had no reason to doubt the legitimacy of the proposal, it seemed like a golden opportunity. However, as the transaction unfolded, things began to take an unsettling turn.
Following the officer’s instructions, Rahma traveled from Minneapolis and transferred the $22,000 to an agent linked to the money transfer agency.
But when she received the receipt, she was shocked to find that the receipt was from a different entity altogether – Rasma Pay LLC, not the company she had been led to believe would be involved in the deal.
As time passed with no substantial progress on the hawala branch, Rahma grew increasingly concerned.
By late September 2024, she reached out to the officer for an update, only to be told that delays with contractors had pushed the completion of the hawala branch to November 2024.
However, things took an even stranger turn when Rahma’s inquiries were met with a long-winded voicemail from the officer, Abdi, explaining his “ailing mother” as the cause of further delays.
This prompted Rahma to follow her father’s advice and demand a refund.
In a letter drafted by her legal team, Danstan Omari and Associates Advocates, Rahma expressed her suspicions that she was being misled and demanded her investment be returned.
The response from Abdi was nothing short of shocking—he claimed the funds had been “lost” within the agency’s system.
Undeterred, Rahma sought to resolve the issue through mediation with Somali community elders.
However, her representatives described the mediation process as a “charade,” offering no meaningful resolution to the dispute.
By December 31, 2024, Rahma took matters into her own hands and traveled to Kenya, where she hoped to get answers directly.
Upon visiting the local office of the money transfer agency, she was met with an even more alarming discovery—the office was closed, and the implicated officer, Abdi, had been dismissed. Further investigations revealed that the agency had been raided, and Abdi was later detained by Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kilimani.
On January 6, 2025, Abdi appeared in court at Kibera Law Courts but was granted a cash bail of Ksh 100,000, leaving Rahma’s hopes for swift justice hanging in the balance.
Formal charges have yet to be filed, and the investigation is ongoing.
Rahma, speaking to the media on Saturday February 2025, shared her dismay over the ordeal: “What has happened to me is something no one should ever endure. I am determined to see justice done, and I want those responsible to face the full force of the law.”
Her case serves as a stark reminder of the potential risks involved in cross-border financial transactions, especially in industries like hawala, which operate largely outside the regulated banking system.
For Rahma, the hope remains that the wheels of justice will turn quickly and those who wronged her will be held accountable.
