Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) have arrested a second suspect, for money laundering involving proceeds from a gold scam that fleeced an American national of Sh28,109,100 in a deal that promised glitter but delivered dust.
Investigators say the funds were wired abroad moments after hitting a Kenyan bank account.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the DCI, they arrested Mohammed Noor Muhyadhin Mohammed who is being described as “the sole proprietor of Mohazcom Trading, a registered Kenyan business that deals in mobile phones sourced primarily from Tecno Mobile Limited in Hong Kong.”
His arrest follows the earlier apprehension of Willis Onyango Wasonga, aka Marcus, who was arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts on February 16, 2026.
According to investigators, Wasonga faces multiple charges, including conspiracy to defraud contrary to Section 317 of the Penal Code, obtaining money by false pretences contrary to Section 313 of the Penal Code, and several counts under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA), including acquisition of proceeds of crime, possession of proceeds of crime, and use of proceeds of crime.
Detectives say the alleged fraudulent transaction occurred earlier this month. “Investigations revealed that on February 3, 2026, Mohammed received a swift transfer of Sh28,109,100 through his company’s account at the National Bank of Kenya. The funds had been debited from the MOAC Advocates accounts, also held at the same bank.”
The money was said to be purportedly payment for 495 kilograms of gold that was never delivered to the victim.
Authorities allege that the funds were transferred out of the country almost immediately. “Barely had the dollars hit his account than Mohammed wired the entire amount overseas to accounts held by Tecno Mobile Limited at Citibank in Hong Kong, allegedly to facilitate a new shipment of mobile phones that is yet to set foot in Kenya.”
Further investigations, the DCI said, revealed that Mohammed “has maintained a business relationship spanning over a decade with a Forex Bureau, located along Standard Street in Nairobi, and has been working very closely with its proprietor.”
The statement added that the forex bureau is believed to have played a key role in the laundering of funds, routinely facilitating substantial cross-border transfers, including the transaction under investigation.
In what detectives describe as an attempt to legitimise the transaction, MOAC Advocates presented a debt settlement agreement allegedly signed by Mohammed and another suspect who is still at large.
However, investigators say the document was merely a smokescreen, a paper shield crafted to conceal a fraudulent enterprise.
Mohammed is currently in custody, undergoing processing pending arraignment, according to the DCI.
Meanwhile, “detectives are hot on the heels of three additional suspects who are still at large.”
The DCI said the case reaffirms the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ commitment in the fight against gold scams and money laundering, through relentless pursuit of fraudsters who seek to exploit investors and tarnish the country’s reputation.
Separately, in a related case, Wasonga was arraigned after defrauding an American national of Sh28,109,100 in a botched 495kgs gold deal.
The complainant reported the matter after what detectives described as a calculated money laundering and sophisticated gold scam.
Investigators say the suspects’ “modus operandi involved an elaborate web of deception involving SRK Logistics Limited, a logistics company allegedly misrepresenting its capacity to supply gold,” as well as “fictitious legal representation agreements, to create the illusion of legitimacy.”
The DCI added that funds were swiftly moved between company accounts and later transferred overseas, a pattern investigators say bears classic hallmarks of money laundering, including layering and concealment of proceeds of crime.
The case is due for mention on March 3, 2026 as investigations continue.
