Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi has been accused of conspiring to defraud a Dubai-based firm more than Sh100 million in a fake gold scandal.
Amadi and her son, Brian Ochieng Amadi, are accused alongside four others of illegally obtaining $742,206 from Bruton Gold Trading LLC — a company in Dubai — with a promise of selling 1.5 tonnes of gold bars. They are alleged to have committed the crime in 2021.
Yesterday, Justice David Majanja froze Amadi’s personal bank accounts together with those of her son and two others pending the hearing of the suit filed by the Dubai-based company that deals in gold.
The firm claims that one Edward Taylor introduced its directors to one Daniel Kang’ara Ndegwa (alias Dan Muriithi) who claimed to be representing an entity called Universal Global Logists Limited (UGL). Ndegwa is one of the defendants in the case that is set to shine a harsh spotlight on the Judiciary.
UGL purported to be in the gold export business and that it could export gold from Kenya to Dubai.
UGL and Bruton Gold Trading LLC then signed agreement stating that Taylor was to deliver gold for export (in Kenya) which Ndegwa would then export to Dubai for sale. The export was to be at Bruton’s cost and the arrangement was that the Dubai company would be reimbursed its total costs for export and be paid commission of 10 per cent of the market value of the gold at the point and time of sale.
On the understanding that UGL could facilitate the export of gold, the Dubai-based company entered into a transaction with it, after being represented by Amadi’s law firm, Amadi and Associates Advocates. The transaction was for the export of 1,500kg of gold bars allegedly ultimately owned by Ndegwa and his family.
The Dubai-based company paid $592,970 through a bank transfer to Amadi’s law firm, which her son runs. The company also made payments totaling $149,236.48 to Ndegwa’s account for his accommodation and other transaction costs on the understanding that the money would be recouped at the close of the transaction. According to the company, Taylor sent them documents meant to mislead them into believing that a genuine transaction was taking place.
Some of the documents sent were; an ICGLR Regional Certificate (Origin — Democratic Republic of Congo), a Mineral Export Permit (Origin — East African Community Customs), a Form C.17 from EAC Customs, a Form C.25 from EAC Customs, a Certificate of Origin from EAC Customs and a Certificate of Change of Ownership also from EAC Customs.
“The plaintiff’s counsel subsequently discovered that all of the foregoing were false and fraudulent documents… There was even a tracking number provided which seemed to show that the consignment of gold had left Kenya yet when the plaintiff sought confirmation from its customs agent in Dubai, it was informed that there was no such shipment that arrived aboard Kenya Airways Flight 304,” reads one of the documents filed in court.
When the director of the Dubai company asked why the gold wasn’t aboard the flight on arrival, Taylor and Ndegwa claimed that it had been taken off the plane as there were some more payments that needed to be made.
“No gold was ever exported from Kenya to Dubai (UAE), and when the plaintiff’s director enquired as to why the consignment had not left Kenya, Ndegwa informed the company that it had been named as a second defendant in a suit filed in the High Court at Milimani,” read the court documents.
The director, on receiving the alleged court order, asked his lawyers to confirm if the High Court had indeed issued any orders against them and whether the suit had been filed as claimed. The lawyers found out that whereas Amadi’s law firm had filed a suit, the orders served on the Dubai firm were fake.
In light of this, and the failure by the two men to ship the gold as agreed even after having received money paid directly to them and through Amadi’s law firm, the Dubai firm filed a complaint at the Kiambu Police Station. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Taylor.
In the course of carrying out their work, officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations discovered that the Judiciary Chief Registrar was the registered proprietor of Amadi and Associates Advocates and the account into which the Dubai company deposited its money was opened by her after she had joined the Judiciary.
“The funds received by the firm of Amadi and Associates Advocates from the plaintiff were withdrawn in cash by Amadi’s son, Brian Ochieng, and Andrew Njenga Kiarie, who also works at the law firm. However, they withdrew the cash without adequate supporting documentation as required by the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act No.9 of 2009 of the Laws of the Republic of Kenya,” argued the company in court documents.
It is their case that Amadi, her son Brian, Kiarie and Ndegwa were beneficiaries of the money withdrawn from the ABC Bank account where the money had been deposited.
According to the Dubai firm, after becoming aware of the investigations, Brian and Kiarie requested and held a meeting with the firm’s advocates on record on the May 10, last year, during which they admitted that the suit which had fake orders was filed from their offices and paid for using Kiarie’s mobile phone line.
They also admitted that they had sent the funds they had received from the company to their accomplices in cash and that they did not have any of the money left and that Taylor was the main perpetrator of the fraud and they could lead the police to him. The two acknowledged their liability and undertook to come up with a proposal to return the money they had received.
Amadi’s firm thereafter wrote a letter dated May 10, 2022, to the company’s advocates in which they forwarded two cheques for $4,500 each totaling to $9,000.
“The payment was characterised as a commitment towards resolution of the matter,” they claimed in court documents.
The Dubai firm also claims that Amadi, in telephone conversations, with its lawyers made proposals to clear the sum in six months, a proposal which was rejected as no security for performance on their part was forthcoming.
The matter will be mentioned on Tuesday next week.
