This archive report was first published on 21 June 2020.
Joshua Muthee Kiura Faces Extradition to Kenya ¶
June 21, 2020
Joshua Muthee Kiura, a 29-year-old suspect, is facing extradition to Kenya after allegedly conning investors out of millions of shillings in a forex scam.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Kiura had promised investors returns of up to 10 per cent per month on any investment above a million and eight per cent on anything between Sh100,000 and Sh1 million.
Investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) revealed that Kiura had obtained tens of millions of shillings from unsuspecting Kenyans while claiming that he would invest in the online forex market to earn interest on behalf of the investors.
DCI boss George Kinoti said the delay in getting the arrest warrant has been caused by the scaling down of court activities in line with regulations on containing the coronavirus.
“The investigation file is ready. Once we obtain the warrant of arrest we shall also be contacting the US authorities as guided by the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to bring him back to face charges,” Mr Kinoti said.
Investors who lost money to Kiura include Timothy Mugunde, who lost Sh2.3 million, and Japheth Kaeke Musyoka, who lost Sh9 million.
Mr Musyoka said, “I had resigned from my job to start a business. I handed to him (Mr Kiura) all my benefits on the promise of good returns,”
Another investor, Elijah Gakuya, says he lost more than Sh500,000 to Kiura.
Information obtained by the Sunday Nation shows that as soon as the investors deposited cash into his bank account at Standard Chartered Bank, he would withdraw nearly all the amount in a series of Pesalink and M-Pesa transactions.
For instance, Mr Mugunde deposited Sh2.2 million on January 15, 2019, and Kiura made an M-Pesa transfer to his phone of Sh10,000, followed by three Pesalink transactions — two for Sh800,000 and one for Sh700,000.
Other than being possibly charged with the offence of obtaining money by false pretences, Kiura could also face the charge of conducting online forex brokerage services without a licence from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
CMA last week told the Sunday Nation that investors who trade through unlicensed entities and lose money have no recourse to them.
“If cases are brought to our attention and we establish there are crimes that may have been committed, we engage the criminal investigation and public prosecution agencies to follow-up such matters,” the authority said.
