Five charged with taking businessman's Sh23 million in fake gold deal

Five people were charged on Wednesday

with defrauding a Nairobi businessman of Sh23 million between May and June.

The five are Philip Aroko, Roy Shirekuli, lawyer Munzala Rumili, Sikanda Abdala Saleh and Ugandan Kayombya Gorman alias Timothy Mureithi.

They are accused of obtaining the money in dollars from businessman Samir Entorno with others yet to be arrested. No recovery has been made.

The suspects are said to have obtained the money at the company's offices on

5th Ngong Avenue between May 15 and June 9.

They allegedly lied about being able to ship eight kilogrammes of gold to Dubai for the businessman.

Aroko is the director of Avaals Metals Company Ltd that was to sell gold to the complaint.

The five denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi.

Gorman pleaded guilty to an additional charge of being in the country unlawfully.

In an affidavit filed in court, corporal Gerald Kamwaro of Parklands DCI said Aroko and Saleh are habitual offenders who should be denied release on bond.

In the document field through state counsel Solomon Naulikha,

Kamwaro said the two are facing criminal charges at the Kibra and Milimani courts respectively.

"This is an indication that the respondents commit offences while out on bond. This is enough reason to deny them bond," he said.

He added that

Gorman's true identity has not been established, because he has a Safaricom SIM card registered under Timothy Mureithi, so he is a is a flight risk.

Lawyer Stanley Kang'ahi

opposed Kamwaro's application, saying Aroko was acquitted alongside 16 others by the Kibra court.

He further told the court that his colleague, Rumili, was arrested because he was found in the premises where the offence allegedly took place.

Andayi granted the suspects release on Sh1 million bond or Sh500,000 cash bail each ahead of the mentioning of the case on Monday.