Conman Charged With Defrauding Businesswoman Sh40M In Forex Exchange Scam

A man has been arraigned in court after allegedly defrauding a woman Sh 40 million in a fake dollar exchange business.

Pincrous Mwandiki Geoffrey alias John Ireri was arraigned before Principal Magistrate Gilbert Shikwe where police sought orders to detain him for 10 days to conclude investigations.

According to an affidavit by Police Constable Stephen Kibei, the complainant, Fatuma Hassan Abdullahi reported that in November 2024 while at her residence in Pangani, was approached by a well-known person to her by the name Hassan accompanied by Geofrey who offered to assist her change Kenya shillings currency to USD at a favorable rate of Sh 110/- to one USD.

The court heard that both the two continued to lure the complainant into non-existent deal and after falling into their fraudulent tricks, she was taken to an unmarked office situated along River Drive in Kileleshwa where she was shown a huge safe box containing purported USD currency.

“The complainant, believing that the deal could generate good profits, went ahead to source for the Kenya shillings where on diverse dates between November 2024 to Mid-January, 2025 she gave the respondent and his accomplices a total of Sh 40 million in cash at the aforementioned offices,” officer Kibei said.

The court heard that after the respondent and his accomplices received the monies, they began to take the complainant in circles until the respondent signed a document with the complainant committing to deliver the USD equivalent to the above quoted amount but still failed to deliver.

The investigator added that upon realizing she had been conned, she reported the matter at Kilimani police station.

“Intelligence reports indicates that the respondent herein while in association with his accomplices who are yet to be arrested, has defrauded a number of Kenyans in the non-existent USD Currency exchange con syndicate,” the investigator stated.

The court heard that the continued detention of the respondent is immensely necessary for the furtherance and finalizing of the investigations.

It is alleged that his release could further lead to interference with the investigations and may continue to defraud unsuspecting Kenyans through his fraudulent schemes.

The investigator said they need time to arrest Geoffrey’s accomplices and record statements from key witnesses.

They also need time to take signature specimen and obtain Geoffrey’s phone forensic report from cybercrime unit to finalize investigations.

The court will deliver a ruling on the custodial application on 23rd January 2024.