A Nairobi court has acquitted a controversial Kenyan businessman implicated in a gold fraud case that saw a foreign investor lose over Sh 7 million.
Senior Principal Magistrate Robinson Ondieki acquitted Abbas Badru Omuyoma alias Yuri Sande Ismael on grounds that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Omuyoma was charged in early 2022 with the offense of defrauding Yvan De Coninck USD 54,540 (Apprx. Sh 7 million).
The court heard that the accused person obtained the money by pretending that he was in a position sell 15 kilograms of gold to the complainant.
The accused person is alleged to have committed the offense on 11th August 2021 in Nairobi.
Omuyoma was put on his defense and during his testimony, he refuted the allegations against him claiming that he was just acting as an agent between two parties and no money was ever wired to him.
He told the court that the alleged gold transaction never materialized due to a disagreement between the parties.
It was his testimony that he was approached by a woman called Madam Pinky who asked him if he could help them with any supplier that he had at the the time.
He added that any funds connected to the failed transaction were allegedly deposited into an escrow account associated with entities identified as Blue Creek and Jason, rather than his personal accounts.
Omuyoma further claimed that he had issued an invoice in his capacity as an agent, with the expectation of earning a commission but he later pulled out of the negotiations.
The court heard that the parties subsequently fell out after which he was summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to record a statement
He said he later pulled out of the negotiations.He added that the parties subsequently fell out, after which he was over the collapsed deal.
