An Australian investor has been left stunned in Nairobi after losing Ksh 78million in a sophisticated gold scam. The lose began with a promise of six hundred kilograms of gold, bound for Dubai, but the Australian investor Andrew Adel Gaballa, promise turned to Nairobi most suspect scam.
Gaballa met American intermediaries who introduced him to Duncan Okonji, whom they went to Tanzania to seal a deal of 600 kilograms of gold. Ten kilograms was to serve as a collateral while the other 590 kilograms shipped to Dubai.
The deal was well planned, until the client was taken to Tanzania for paperwork, operations later on found out no product was delivered, yet money was paid, Nabeel Khan stated.
Small pellets of gold were heated in a house in Kilimani, Nairobi to show Gaballa were ready to deliver, only to find out they were blackmailing him.
The complaint revealed Gaballa paid US$ 4000 (Ksh 517,000) for deposit for the gold to be taken in Oman. The complaint spent a transactions, Ksh 63million for insurance, Ksh 1.2million legal services, Ksh 5.1million cryptocurrency transfers and Ksh 517,000 storage fees and Ksh 6.4million travel and business expenses.
Gaballa was ordered to pay half price of Ksh 63.9 million through a law firm, promised it would arrive in Dubai within five days. The scammers later demanded an additional of Ksh 5.1 million to reroute to Oman as they claimed the war in UAE made delivery impossible.
Nabeel Khan said, they have been seeking assistance from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), filing their case on how fraudsters posing as lawyers and brokers orchestrated sophisticated scheme involving fake gold, forged insurance and bogus storage facilities.
Gaballa is now demanding immediate arrest and accountability from the Kenyan authorities.
