Pevan East Africa which is trading as Sportpesa has been blocked by a Nairobi court from using four paybill numbers until the Betting Control and Licensing Boards allows them to operate as Pevan East Africa and Milestone Games Limited.
Senior Principal Magistrate David Ndungi issued the order after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations filed a miscellaneous application seeking to block usage of the said pay bill numbers pending investigations into a case of conspiracy to defraud.
The blocked paybill numbers are 521521, 9551000 and short codes 29050, 79079 and USSD code *790# held at Safaricom from October 2020 to date.
The betting control and licensing board filed a complaint by a letter addressed to DCI-Nairobi area headquarters alleging that the paybill are being used for betting and gaming fraudulently since the board had already stopped sportpesa.
Pevani East Africa limited which is alleged to be unlicensed is said to have conspired with Miestone Games limited which is a licensed company to defraud members of the public.
“The said paybill and short codes were activated and transferred from Pevani East Africa to Milestone Games Limited and are being used to trade in fraudulently as the betting control and licensing board didn’t approve the license for sportpesa,” said the investigator.
The court heard that the BCLB are apprehensive that Kenyans are being defrauded by the two companies using numbers provided by telco giant Safaicom.
Court ordered Safaricom Kenya Limited to furnish the investigating officer Chief Inspector Wanga Masake with details of the owners of the said paybill numbers.
