European conmen in Nairobi and their elaborate tricks

By Moses Michira

Nairobi has often been a magnet for international scammers. But a new breed of sophisticated foreign conning syndicates, made up of men of European origin and their local contacts, seems to have descended on the capital with a fresh scam that has cost victims millions of shillings.

The deals involve white men, who present themselves as wealthy businessmen or NGO bosses, spinning a web of deception so intricate that even detectives are left with few leads to follow. Five-star hotels, expensive designer wear and top drawer accessories like watches, chains and cologne come in handy to help in disguising the real intentions of the  ruthless conmen, who often execute their mission with military precision.

Lucy (not her real name) fell victim to the swindlers early last year, and is still in shock at how easily one can lose so much money. On that fateful day, Lucy, a city realtor, was approached by an acquaintance, who told her of a prospective business deal that would potentially earn those millions in quick profits. 

Her contact arranged for a quick meeting with a supposed white businessman, who was at the time staying at the Hilton Hotel in the city Centre.

The businessman introduced himself as Morris. He had come into the country four days earlier. His mission was to find a rare species of seeds used in the United Kingdom to manufacture designer fragrances and expensive drugs for chemotherapy. The seed, he said, was only available in Kajiado.  Since he was new in the country, and considering his short visit, he could not travel beyond Nairobi. But, Morris warned, the presence of the seeds in Kenya was a secret that should not be shared.

Morris told Lucy that he was only in Kenya for two days before leaving for Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a business meeting. As if to confirm his authenticity as an international businessman, Morris intentionally opened a briefcase full of $100 dollar notes as Lucy watched. He then walked her to the restaurant downstairs where her role was explained.

Her task seemed simple enough. She only needed to travel to Oloitokitok to buy the seeds from an illiterate Maasai elder.  Conveniently, Morris did not know how much the original seller would charge but he promised to buy the seeds from Lucy at Sh50, 000 per kilo. The only risk she had to take was to use her money to buy the seeds—but this would be returned as soon as she delivered. He was sorry he could not give her any money upfront as he had previously been conned in such a transaction.After all, if Morris played any games she would simply sell the rare seeds to another willing buyer.

Lucy’s acquaintance later told her that the seeds could be bought for as low as Sh35,000 a kilo,  translating to a profit of  Sh10,000. He also gave her the number of the best Maasai trader to deal with. Lucy calculated that she could make quick profit in and decided to spend the Sh5 million she had in her account to buy as many kilos of the rare seed as possible.

A friend she confided in regarding the business venture asked her to be cautions because someone else had fallen prey to a similar scam. But she ignored the warning, thinking he was just jealous.

The very next morning, after calling the Maasai trader, she drove her pick-up to Oloitokitok to complete the transaction. True to form, she met the trader who showed her the precious seeds. The deal was quickly sealed and she was soon on her way back to Nairobi with 150kgs worth of cargo, arriving late in the evening. That was when her troubles began. She tried calling Morris so that she could deliver the seeds, but his phone was off. When she went to the hotel, she was told there was no guest listed as Morris and the one occupying the room number she had given had checked out in the morning. Her acquaintance had also disappeared, and the number   he used to call the Maasai trader was also off. The three, she now knows, were working together.  Her hopes of turning to her only other insurance, re-selling the seeds, were also crushed after someone who works at the government chemist told her  she had valueless seeds. She does not know what to do with the seeds and is too embarrassed to report to  the police or tell her friends what  happened.

Lucy is not alone. Caleb Momanyi  got off with a slightly different  experience, but in the end had lost Sh1.2 million which he got after  selling a plot.

 Momanyi was close to making the proverbial ‘first million’ when he was introduced to a ‘UN staffer’ of American origin who had registered an NGO operating in South Sudan. The organization was helping Southern Sudanese, who had been affected by drinking water with a high concentration of fluoride that was damaging their teeth.  It sounded like a real business prospect when the NGO signed him up as one of the suppliers of a special powder with medicinal properties to negate the effects of fluoride.  But the powder could only be found in Arusha from a specific trader.  The ‘UN staffer’ could not risk travelling and openly engaging in the activities of an NGO.

He travelled to Arusha with the person who had earlier introduced him to the NGO, both with enough cash to purchase more than 100kgs of the powder. Momanyi’s Investment was enough to buy just over 34kgs at Sh35, 000 each. The plan was to sell to the NGO at Sh60, 000.

 Since pharmaceutical products do not attract any duty across the East Africa region, getting in the powder would not attract any taxes, which makes it even harder to sense any deception.

But just like Morris, the ‘UN staffer’ could not be reached on the phone when Momanyi and his business partner arrived in Nairobi the following day. He had been duped. 

The two are victims of an elaborate scam that may continue for some time as the police do not seem aware.