Congolese Conman Arrested in Nairobi Over Sh18M Dubai Gold Scam

Nairobi, Kenya – A Congolese national has been charged in a Nairobi court over his alleged involvement in a high-stakes gold scam that swindled two Dubai-based companies out of over Sh18 million in a fraudulent deal.

Lupemba Lorenzi Olivier was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Monday under a miscellaneous application by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), which is seeking to detain him for 10 more days as investigations intensify.

According to an affidavit filed by DCI officer Sergeant Samuel Itegi, Olivier was arrested on July 31 by officers from the Operations Support Unit.

The arrest followed a report lodged in June 2025 by Ulrich Kenney, a Gabonese national, and Mekalih Tifre Masho, an Eritrean citizen.

Both men are representatives of Dubai-registered companies Hala Diamond Gold Trading and Jonro Global Trading LLC, respectively.

The court heard that the two complainants had traveled to Kenya from Uganda in late February in pursuit of gold investment opportunities.

A Kenyan contact only identified as “Ali” allegedly introduced them to Olivier, claiming he had access to legitimate gold stock.

A day after arriving in Nairobi, a meeting was reportedly held at the Shell Petrol Station along State House Road, where Olivier assured the investors that he could supply gold at a rate of USD 65,000–70,000 per kilogram.

A follow-up meeting was held on April 10 at Wu-yi Plaza in Kilimani, where the complainants met Olivier, his alleged brother “Eric,” and two purported shipping agents named Peter and Benold.

It was during this meeting that the investors expressed interest in purchasing 40 kilograms of gold—20 kg for each company.

They agreed to pay logistical fees upfront and were offered a 5 kg gold collateral to be jointly held at First Monetary Security Limited.

According to the investigators, Hala Diamond wired USD 140,000 from a Swiss bank account to a Kenyan law firm, Kadiki & Advocates, as directed by the seller.

An additional payment of KSh180,000 was made via a Safaricom till number.

However, the promised gold never materialized.

Sergeant Itegi told the court that the police are still pursuing additional suspects linked to the fraud, including the so-called brother and shipping agents.

He further stated that Olivier’s release on bail would likely interfere with evidence recovery, suspect arrests, and verification of the suspect’s actual residence.

Police are also awaiting forensic analysis of Olivier’s phone, believed to contain critical communication and transactional records related to the scam.

Chief Magistrate Onyina will rule on the police application for continued detention in the coming days as investigations continue into what appears to be yet another elaborate gold fraud network operating within Kenya’s borders.

Editor’s Note: Kenya has in recent years become a hotspot for international gold scams, often involving elaborate syndicates that target foreign investors using fake documentation, staged meetings, and bogus storage facilities.