Congolese Scammer In Sh680M Gold Fraud Freed On Bond

A Congolese man charged with defrauding Ukrainian and Japanese nationals over Sh680 million in a fake gold deal was on Thursday freed on bond.

He, however, lost his bid to have a Sh60 million bond granted to him reviewed downwards.

Milimani Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Bernard Ochoi said the bond terms awarded to Mr Andre Kongolo Tshikunga was pegged on the Sh680 million he allegedly defrauded the complainants.

“The Sh60 million bond with two sureties is quite reasonable and not reviewable downwards,” ruled Mr Ochoi.

The court directed the accused to avail two Kenyan sureties to sign the bond.

“This court will not admit you to a cash bail. In the event you abscond, the Kenyan sureties will be held into account,” Mr Ochoi ruled.

The accused’s lawyer Stanley Kang’ahi had applied to have the bond terms reviewed saying his client could not raise the colossal sum.

The suspect has been in custody for the last 15 days since his arrest January 6, 2022 after being on the run for four years.

He denied obtaining money through false pretenses from Mr Kovalenko Hennadii and Mr Nashimoto Masaaki between January 2018 and November 2020.

He was charged with obtaining USD 1,059,000 (Sh105, 900, 000) from Mr Hennadii through false pretenses.

From Mr Masaaki, he was accused of fraudulently receiving USD5, 772, 717 (Sh577, 271, 700) after claiming he was in a position to ship to him 250 kilograms of gold.

The complainants’ lawyer Gerry Owuor said Mr Tshikunga could be a flight risk and did not deserve to be granted bond. The court, however, said that bond is a constitutional right for both Kenyan citizens and foreigners.

In the two cases, the court freed the accused on a Sh10 million bond with two sureties for the suit by Mr Hennadii. He was released on Sh50 million bond with two sureties in the Masaaki suit.

Mr Tshikunga was arrested on January 6, 2022 and detained at Capitol Hill Police Station. The court heard the accused had other pending cases before Milimani and Kibera courts.

Mr Tshikunga was accused of fraudulently obtaining USD 1,059,000 (Sh105, 900,000) from Mr Hennadii between January and November 2018 at Afrisolutions Company Limited along Kaptei Road, Kileleshwa Nairobi alongside others.