Magolink X-press Distributors loses Sh4.4m in fake blanket deal

Magolink X-press Distributors Limited lost Sh4.4 million after its director was allegedly duped by a Chinese woman to send the money to an individual believing it was a blanket factory in China.

The director, Godfrey Owino, told a Nairobi court the company lost the money after he was unable to distinguish Chinese names of persons and companies.

He was testifying in a case in which a Caixian Xiong alias Alice Makena, a Chinese national, is accused of defrauding Magolink of Sh4.4 million, pretending she was in a position to help the company import blankets.

The accused denied three counts of fraud and was released on a Sh1 million bond after she also deposited her passport.

Mr Owino, who was the first witness to testify before Milimani Resident Magistrate Pamela Mugure, said the company had been contracted to supply assorted blankets to a United Nation's agency. He said the company opted to contact Xiong, who had visited the company on several occasions in search of contracts.

"She told me she knew a factory known as Hu Xian Hong and she was in a position to help the company import the blankets from the said factory. After contacting a person who introduced himself as a manager, she instructed me to wire the first installment of Sh2,182,630 and later a second installment of Sh2,187,662," Mr Owino said. 

The hearing resumes on January 30 next year.