This archive report was first published on 22 October 2021.
Published on October 22, 2021, a Spanish firm, Inner Spirit SL, is locked in a bitter court battle with a Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) mining cooperative, STE Cooperative Miniere Pour Le Progress De La Nation Congolese Sarl (Coomidepco), and a Kenyan security firm, MySafe Vaults Limited, over a Sh2.6 billion gold haul stored in Nairobi.
Inner Spirit SL claims that Coomidepco is colluding with MySafe Vaults Limited to defraud it of the gold, which was valued at Sh2.6 billion and stored in five safe deposit boxes in Nairobi.
The Spanish firm had signed a deal with Coomidepco on May 8 to purchase the gold, with each kilo worth $37,000 (Sh4.1 million), making the total value of the gold $24.05 million (Sh2.66 billion).
However, Inner Spirit SL alleges that Coomidepco has not supplied it with any gold despite receiving huge sums of money, and that MySafe Vaults Limited is threatening to release the gold to Coomidepco without further reference and notice to Inner Spirit SL.
Inner Spirit SL has sued Coomidepco, its principal official, Mr Paul Mohindo Katchuva, and MySafe Vaults Limited, seeking orders barring the release of the gold and compensation for the alleged attempt to "illegally release the gold".
