Flamboyant Businessman Ricardo Badoer Hit By Multi-billion Scamming Allegations

A controversial foreign businessman with major investments in Kenya has become the latest globally recognized figure to be hit by heavy scamming allegations.

Disgruntled investors have come out to accuse Wazito FC owner Ricardo Badoer of defrauding them billions of shillings through his cryptocurrency exchange platform known as Aidos Kuneen.

According to reports circulating on local blogs, the tough-talking Swedish tycoon has withheld assets totalling up to Sh16 billion from the Japanese investors.

The victims additionally claim that after constantly bugging him with questions regarding their funds, Badoer blocked all communication channels that lead to his access and that of the company.

“Most of the investors are Japanese. He has withheld their assets and blocks anyone on Twitter or Aidos Market Telegram who asks about their money,” the source told a local tabloid.

The firm is also the headline sponsor of his football club that plays in the Kenyan Premier League.

A cryptocurrency exchange platform like Aidos Market is an online marketplace where users buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency. A cryptocurrency exchange works similar to an online brokerage, as users can deposit fiat currency (such as U.S. dollars), and use those funds to purchase cryptocurrency.

“In this case, it is like a bank denying customer withdrawals for fear of client panic withdrawals similar to what happened to Chase bank or almost with Family Bank some time back,” the anonymous source further reveals.

The frustrated investors are now seeking the intervention of the Central Bank of Kenya as well as Sumac Microfinance Bank where he holds a substantial shareholding.

They hope that raising the alarm will lead to sanctions against Badoer.

As of the publishing of this post, Badoer’s crypto market announced an unprecedented suspension of activities.

In a statement published on Twitter, Aidos Kuneen apologized for taking the network down and claimed it was due to an ongoing migration plan.

“Due to potential security bug found in the old Address format, we need to take the network down for a few days to work on the migration plan to the new format,” they wrote.

This man Ricardo Badoer

Badoer become a celebrity in Kenyan football when he took over Wazito FC in 2018 and quickly began galvanizing the club to win the Kenya Super League and return to the top-flight Kenya Premier League.

Beyond his Twitter wars with fans and haters spiced with his flamboyance, many Kenyans barely understood the man who has changed the little-known team from just another team to one of the most-watched sides in the league.

From his many published interviews, Badoer claims he started his first business at just the age of 20, where he renovated homes with his friend.

He later moved to Spain where he worked as a property agent.

Within no time, he had made enough money from selling refurbished properties and later grew his trade into a full-fledged construction company named “Badoer Invest”.

Between 2001 and 2008, during the Spanish economic boom, Badoer Invest built and sold properties in southern Spain, making Badoer a multi-millionaire at the age of 25.

In 2003 he founded a firm named Caixa Rico in Panama as a financial services provider and used it as a vehicle to invest in the financial market.

Caixa Rico Used Webmoney (an online payment settlement system) to avoid high Banking fees.

It was Webmoney that is said to have sparked his interest in digital currency.

When Bitcoin was launched in 2009, Badoer started using it in his company for settling transfers.

He started trading Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a hobby until 2017 when he eventually founded his own Digital currency and named it Aidos Kuneen (ADK).

This was around the same time he brought some of his investments into Kenyan football.

Before the emergence of the scamming allegations, ADK was trading on 12 different exchanges which could explain the massive number of clients it attracted.

Very little is known about Ricardo’s rather private personal life.

He is married with three children and a registered resident of the UAE with several homes in Dubai as well as Spain.

Badoer being infamous for his flamboyance is a rather obvious fact.

He fancies designer clothes, with Gucci and Versace his favourite labels.

He also loves his cigar.

On his official Twitter account, he describes himself as an entrepreneur, cigar and timepiece aficionado.

Although several media outlets have reported that Badoer is a dollar billionaire, there are no documents in the public domain to support these claims.

But one thing that is for sure is that this is a man with very deep pockets, thanks to his business acumen.