A Belgian national has sent more than Sh650 million to at least three Kenyan girlfriends and their relatives in just 19 months.
Detectives believe this extraordinary generosity is an elaborate money-laundering scheme.
Associates of the Belgian, Merc De Mesel, portray him in court papers as generous to a fault, someone who would not think twice to lavish millions on anyone.
However, the Assets Recovery Agency says De Mesel is the mastermind of a complex money laundering syndicate with individuals in foreign jurisdictions. The pretence is that the funds are just gifts.
“Investigations have established that between the months of February 2020 and August 2021, De Mesel transferred funds totalling Sh650,995,123 to five individuals in Kenya,” ARA said in court paper.
The five individuals were identified as Jane Wangui Kago, Serah Wambui Kamanda, Tebby Wambuku Kago and Timothy Waigwa.
De Mesel is the man who sent a Sh102 million gift to his girlfriend Felesta Njoroge, 22, a student of Nairobi Technical Training Institute in August last year.
The Assets Recovery Agency swung into action, went to court and obtained orders freezing the accounts.
The man had also sent Sh103 million to Tebby Wambuku Kago who claims to be De Mesel's housewife.
But the ARA is back in court, seeking to freeze another account associated with De Mesel.
This time, the funds were wired to a Kirinyaga University student identified as Timothy Waigwa Maina. Police say he is 22 years old.
De Mesel sent Sh47 million to Timothy as a 'gift' to start a business.
Timothy is a cousin of another of De Mesel's girlfriends, Serah Wambui.
"Sometimes in 2019, I had escorted my cousin, Serah Wambui, to Aga Khan Hospital. She got treated and from there we went to a nearby Java restaurant within Parklands.
"As we were having lunch, a white gentleman walked in and joined us. Serah introduced him to me as her boyfriend. She also introduced me to the gentleman as her cousin. The name of the white man was Merc Freddy De Mesel," Timothy told investigators.
Soon after their meeting, Timothy landed a job as De Mesel's PA.
"As the personal assistant, my duties included booking travels, flights, paying bills, booking hotels, making appointments, etc. I also assisted him obtain a work permit and a passport for his family," Timothy said.
In their agreement, Timothy was to be paid Sh50,000 per month through cryptocurrency.
"In early 2021 De Mesel asked me if I could accept his idea of giving me money to invest," Timothy said. "I told him I would think about it. After a while I accepted the offer," he said, explaining the millions wired to his account.
I later realised De Mesel trades in cryptocurrency with huge investments in online stocks. I also came to know he had a family in Kenya when I used to visit his apartment in Garden City where he lived with Tebby and Felista
After receiving Sh47,115,730, Timothy transferred Sh2,623,750 to his UK account domiciled at Fidon Bank and later used it to trade in crypto currency, he said.
The balance of Sh39 million, which was transferred to his Stanbic Bank account, is what ARA wants frozen.
"I later realised De Mesel trades in cryptocurrency with huge investments in online stocks. I also came to know he had a family in Kenya when I used to visit his apartment in Garden City where he lived with Tebby and Felista," Timothy told police.
Serah becomes De Mesel’s third girlfriend in this list after Felesta and Tebby.
To demonstrate how generous De Mesel was with his cash, he again 'gifted' Tebby's elder sister Jane Wangui Sh44 million and asked her if she was interested in visiting Portugal.
De Mesel then asked her to open a euro account so he could send her more money. He even asked Jane to wait for some time so she could apply for a golden visa to Portugal.
The Portugal golden visa is an immigrant investor programme by the government of Portugal. It grants residency in the country to people who invest in properties worth at least Sh60 million or create 10 jobs in Portugal.
Jane alongside her sister Tebby met De Messel at the Pirates Beach in Mombasa in 2017.
“While we were at Pirates Beach, a white man came to where we were and started talking to my sister Tebby Wambuku. I left them talking to give them space,” Jane told police in a statement she recorded on August 17 last year.
Tebby told investigators she is De Mesel’s housewife and that they have been staying at an apartment in Garden City, Nairobi, since February 2018, paying Sh170,000 in rent. That is after she met De Mesel in Mombasa in 2017.
“In the year 2017 before I started staying with Merc De Mesel, I introduced him to my parents and they agreed I stay with him as long as I was safe,” Tebby said in her statement recorded on August 17, 2021.
State prosecutor Steven Githinji wants the funds in Timothy’s accounts frozen pending the hearing of an intended forfeiture application.
“Unless the orders sought are granted, the respondent will continue to enjoy the benefits derived from proceeds of crime,” Githinji said
Authorities believe De Mesel is the mastermind of a money laundering syndicate and is recruiting Kenyans to "conceal, disguise the nature, source, disposition and movement of the illicit funds suspected to constitute proceeds of crime".
Those targeted are aged between 19 and 26, investigating Sergeant Fredrick Musyoki said in his affidavit.
Police told the court Felesta had indicated the money was a gift from De Mesel whom she described as her boyfriend.
The 21-year-old Nairobi Technical Training Institute student was found to have opened her bank account at Cooperative Bank in August 2021, days before it was credited with Sh102 million in a span of four days.
It was also at the same time that De Mesel sent another Sh103 million to Tebby.
“Our investigations established that she opened the accounts for the sole purpose of receiving the said funds which she declared the source to be from her boyfriend for her to invest in land projects and travelling,” Musyoki said of Felesta’s accounts.
De Mesel recruits/targets/exploits young persons aged between 19 and 26 who are jobless to execute money laundering schemes
The agency had asked Felesta to explain the source of the funds but she did not show up and instead escaped to Tanzania by crossing the Namanga border as a pedestrian on October 2, 2021.
Musyoki said De Mesel was also in Kenya at the time but he also escaped to Tanzania using the same route.
“Investigations have established that De Mesel recruits/targets/exploits young persons aged between 19 and 26 who are jobless to execute money-laundering schemes,” Musyoki said.
(Edited by V. Graham)
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