- Jared Otieno paid dowry for his wife in Meru in August 2015 arriving in a convoy of expensive cars.
- Was arrested last Sunday and appeared in court with complaints over stealing over ksh 187 million. Prosecutor requested to hold him for 7 days.
-The complainants so far are from citizens of Kuwait, Lebanon, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Spain , Malaysia and other Arab countries…
-Targets people looking to sell gold by charging them facilitation (import and taxes) fees by pretending he was in a position to help them export gold from Kenya to foreign countries
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Two appearances in court over different criminal cases in a span of three days, complainants from all over the globe, millions being demanded from him and more information promising to come out.
The story of flamboyant businessman Jared Otieno meanders way longer than the convoy of expensive cars that headed to the home of his wife in Meru County when he went to pay her dowry in August 2015.
Before his court appearances on Monday and Wednesday, Mr Otieno had been arrested at 2pm last Sunday following several complaints by foreign nationals who accused him of conning them of huge sums of money amounting to more than Sh187 million.
His arrest in itself has come as a surprise as he has often been perceived as “untouchable” despite reported complaints, including an investigation by the Nation in February.
When he was arraigned at a magistrate’s court in Nairobi the next day, police requested Senior Principal Magistrate Martha Mutuku to have him detained for seven days to complete investigations into the matter.
The court heard that he was being investigated for obtaining money from unsuspecting people while pretending he was in a position to help them export gold from Kenya to foreign countries.
Investigating officer Moses Gituathi told the court that he swindles the monies while claiming it is meant for paying government taxes and exportation expenses.
Among the latest people to lodge a complaint against Mr Otieno are Mausa Alraie and Ahmed Ezzddine who on June 15 made a report at Parklands police station.
And between May 29 and June 2, one Chong Wan Theng wrote four different complaints to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) about Mr Otieno’s alleged fraud.
Earlier, Kadwake Dina Mithrage and George Wijetilake had written a complaint to DCI on May 26.
On April 19, Prakash Robert Deeplal Baichan also filed a complaint. A day earlier, one Mika Asikane had written a complaint letter too.
And on December 24, 2016, one Mohamed Mustaq made a report at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport police station.
The complainants so far are from citizens of Lebanon, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Spain and Malaysia.
The Nation spoke with one of Mr Otieno’s alleged victims, who requested not to be named because police investigations are on-going.
He however revealed that he had paid Sh10 million and was on the cusp of paying Sh260 million when he saw through Mr Otieno’s scheme.
The man of Arab origin, who we shall call Musa, went to the police after efforts to get his Sh10 million back by engaging Mr Otieno’s partner hit a wall.
The partner is a powerful man in the current government but he showed no signs of helping, forcing Musa and his friend to approach the DCI.
“They make it so real that you will have no reason to doubt them.
I was referred to them by a mutual friend who had actually bought some 20 kilogrammes of gold from them,” said Musa.
A kilogramme of gold goes for Sh2.6 million and for each kilo sold, the buyers can make a Sh1 million profit, which is why many international traders have been caught in the trap.
“I wanted 100 kilogrammes to sell in my home country and make profit. They satisfactorily answered all my questions online and showed evidence of people they have supplied before, some even in my country whom it later turned out were part of the cartel. The process of exportation to Qatar then began,” Musa added.
To avoid taking chances, and because the amounts of money involved was also enormous, Musa had to come to Nairobi to ensure he is not being subjected to a wild goose chase.
The gold, as per the plan, would be smuggled in the country from Congo through Busia at the Kenya-Uganda border.
“My partners were very cooperative. In detail, they explained what would happen at every stage right from Congo to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
I would pay the facilitation fees all the way from the source before making the final payment for the goods on delivery,” he narrates.
He put up at a luxurious hotel in Nairobi awaiting the delivery of the goods.
Documents in our possession show the consignment would be coming from Congo’s Ituri district where most major mines are found.
Being a risky affair and largely fuelled by the precious nature of the commodity in question, and with the full awareness that he is engaging in an illegal activity, Musa decided not to accompany the delivery from Congo.
He, however, planned to verify its contents and quantity at a refinery located between Mwingi and Vihiga roads in Nairobi’s Kileleshwa before paying for it.
The main supplier, he was told, is a general in the Congolese army who controls a number of mines.
The general reportedly helps move it through his country up to Uganda where another senior military official takes over until it gets to Busia.
What Musa is not sure of is whether real gold came from Congo but at the moment, he has parted with Sh10 million for “facilitation”.
But just before he could transfer the purchase money to Genet Air Cargo, a company associated with Mr Otieno, Musa saw media reports that his would-be supplier had run into problems with the police on allegations of fraud.
He learnt that many victims who chose to transport their “gold” separately as cargo had ended up with sand or bronze when they got home.
Police are piecing up the bits of Musa’s story to use it as evidence against Mr Otieno in court.
When Mr Otieno appeared in court on Wednesday, the prosecution said he has many nicknames — Jared Kiasa Otieno, Jared Smith Otieno, Richard Otieno and Jared Smith Mackenzie Otieno.
PAYING SH4.6 MILLION
He was then charged with fraudulently obtaining Sh17.4 million from Mr Mustaq Hefeji Dawood between October 4, 2015 and October 31, 2016 while promising to deliver 50 kilogrammes of gold from JKIA to Kuwait International Airport.
The second charge was that he tricked Mr Mohammed Imad Mokdad into paying Sh4.6 million on diverse dates between June 2 and June 13 this year.
He denied the charges and was released on a Sh3 million bond ahead of the hearing of the case on September 29. Meanwhile, he continues staying in police custody following last Monday’s court appearance.