On May 18, 2023, a Nairobi High Court ordered for the freezing of all personal bank accounts registered under the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, Anne Atieno Amadi, her son Brian Ochieng’ Amadi and two others over an alleged gold scam.
Justice David Majanja directed that no withdrawals should be made in the mentioned bank accounts without approval from the courts.
But what Kenyans did not know, is the person who had deposited the said amount of money totalling to Ksh60,833,056 in the bank accounts registered under the names of Amadi and what was the deal behind the transaction.
K24 TV's Crime and Investigations desk went further to trail the source of the funds and the fraudulent activities that surrounded the entire scheme, involving two Liberians, two British business partners and a Kenyan. The deal was sealed in Dubai.
Well calculated scheme
Documents in K24 TV’s possession point to a well calculated scheme that was put in motion on March 16, 2021 at Emirates Towers hotel in Dubai, UAE.
The underhands in the deal was to have the two British nationals defrauded of millions of shillings in a purported gold business in kenya.
The two Liberians who spearheaded the transaction were aware of the intended plans by the British nationals to buy gold. They would then advise them to help them secure a good deal within kenya.
One of the documents we obtained which we believe was a statement by the main complainant Demetrios Bradshaw, a British national and a resident in Dubai, states that he is the director of Bruton Gold Trading LLC, a limited company incorporated in Dubai.
He further alleges that he was defrauded USD 627,406.48.
Through an introduction by a Liberian identified as Mr. Edward Taylor, they entered into a transaction to export 1,500 KGs of gold bars allegedly owned by the Liberian and his family from kenya to Dubai.
The export was to be facilitated by a company by the name Universal Global Logistics.
Bradshaw says alongside his co director, were introduced to a Kenyan identified as Mr. Daniel Muriithi who apparently was an officer of UGL, the company behind the gold in Kenya.
Bradshaw continues to note that in 2021, they were invited to Nairobi with his co-director at a house along Marula lane in Karen which was branded UGL.
Daniel Muriithi
At the villa, they met Daniel Muriithi and were taken to a smelting facility within the compound and were shown what appeared to be gold pellets.
He says after the viewing, Muriithi informed them that they did not have funds to cater for the export costs that would need to be paid in Kenya, and requested assistance from the British nationals to meet the cost.
As part of the deal, the two British nationals were taken through an examination on at least 10 pellets of the sample product which turned positive for gold.
It was further agreed that ownership of the gold would be transferred to the British nationals company name as part of their security.
The british nationals also claimed they were provided with a certificate of origin and a mineral export licence as part of the purchasing process.
The scheme had taken a sharp twist and someone was at the brink of being conned unknowingly.
To make the entire transaction a success, Muriithi had already made contact with Anne Amadi’s law firm which he could use as part of their conspiracy to seek legal services for the gold deal.
Perhaps he knew very well, the firm being connected with the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary would pass the test of trust for the foreigners.
Amadi and Associates advocates
As events unfolded, the two British nationals were requested to reach out to a Mr. Andrew Njenga Kiarie of Amadi and Associates advocates who would offer legal services in the would be transaction. This is where Anne Amadi’s name got dragged into the gold syndicate.
K24 TV contacted Andrew Njenga seeking clarification on his encounter with Daniel Muriithi and if they ever met over the alleged gold transaction to Dubai.
The advocate revealed to K24 TV that he only encountered Muriithi sometime in 2021 when Muriithi was seeking legal services at Amadi’s law firm.
He says, Muriithi requested for a contact to reach the law firm incase he needed their legal services.
Sometime later, the law firm would receive a call from the mentioned British foreigners followed by an email requesting legal services.
The British nationals wanted to have an escrow agreement between Bruton Gold Trading LLC and Universal Global Logistics EA, which would initiate payments and transfer of the gold to Dubai.
Andrew Njenga declined to give more information on what transpired thereafter, but referred us to their lawyer saying all details pertaining the issue were with him.
K24 TV reached out to their lawyer for further clarification but still he declined to comment on the matter arguing that it was before a court of law. However, he agreed with the facts brought to his attention.
After reaching out to their lawyer to countercheck the facts, K24 TV further obtained crucial documents which had been filed in court on the matter.
Escrow agreement
Part of the documents was an escrow agreement.
It was made on October 15, 2021 between Bruton Gold Trading LLC represented by Demetrios Bradshaw and Amadi and Associates advocates.
The escrow agreement contained terms and conditions of a business involvement between Bruton Gold Trading LLC belonging to the two British nationals, and Universal Global Logistics EA allegedly owned by Muriithi.
In the agreement, the two parties never revealed the nature of business they were transacting.
It was through this escrow agreement, an escrow account was agreed upon. The account would see an agreed amount deposited into it by the buyers of the gold.
The amount would only be disbursed in bits to the seller upon written authorisation to offer logistic services for the transfer of the consignment to Dubai, as per directions captured via emails in our possession.
To facilitate shipment of the gold from Kenya to Dubai, UGL needed money to generate clearance certificates for the cargo.
Among certificates claimed were an ICGLR certificate, a mineral export permit, clearance certificates from East Africa Community customs management, and change of ownership certificate.
This forced the two British nationals to release funds for this facilitation.
Figures captured in emails and bank statements show that a total of about Ksh60,833,056 was deposited in the bank account captured in the escrow agreement for the purchase of the gold.
However, the figures being claimed by various lawyers representing the two British nationals vary in their police statements.
A breakdown extracted from the bank statements shows how much was deposited by the two British nationals through an AERAS DWC LLC bank in Dubai to Amadi and Associates advocates bank account in Kenya for the transaction as per the escrow agreement.
Moneys paid
On September 22, 2021, $192,790 was deposited in the bank account as a first payment towards the sale of the gold.
On September 27, 2021, $135,000 was also deposited in the same account. The entire transaction was finalised on October 19, 2021 with yet another deposit of $259,990 which was an equivalent of Ksh60,833,056, as the total amount deposited and withdrawn to complete the gold transaction.
In the same bank account, there was another deposit of $5,190 which we were told was a refund to Amadi’s law firm as an advance payment towards Muriithi.
After receiving the payment for the purchase and shipment of the gold, Muriithi shared an official receipt he signed on November 10, 2021 to Bruton Gold LLC as a clearance leeway and ready to release the consignment from Kenya.
He acknowledged receipt of $583,700 from Amadi and Associates advocates which was about Ksh60,121,100.
The whole amount was withdrawn and allegedly paid to Muriithi in cash.
K24 TV’s investigations established that Muriithi had requested to have the money paid to him in cash because his bank accounts were in arreas and he needed cash to fast track the gold shipment.
And just as a scripted movie, on Friday, October 18, 2021, at about 2:36pm, the shipment was ready at JKIA, and an alleged invoice from Kenya Airways cargo with details of the shipment was sent to Demetrios Bradshaw in Dubai with a tracking number to help him monitor the progress of the shipment.
In a turn of events before the consignment would leave Kenya, a man identified in court papers as Rufus Yah, showed up with a court order allegedly stopping the said shipment.
The details of the orders were that Rufus Yah being the applicant and part of the deal to have the gold sold to Bruton Gold Trading in Dubai was not involved in the entire transaction process.
He further claimed that the buyers of the gold had unpaid balance of $10,000,000 which he stood to lose should the consignment leave kenya. The alleged injunction brought to halt the entire process, until concerns raised were addressed.
The same information was passed to the directors of Bruton Gold Trading raising eyebrows, since in the first agreement the two British nationals never revealed the kind of a transaction they were engaged in when with the Kenyans.
They then opted to have the matter settled out of court to avoid losing their investment.
The British nationals found themselves in between a rock and a hard place, since more money was needed to complete the transaction and they were at the risk of losing because they did not have an agreement indicating they were purchasing the gold.
Remember in their escrow agreement, they never revealed the nature of the business they were transacting for unknown reasons.
The twist
It dawned upon the British nationals that they might have been conned. To salvage the damage, they contacted Victor Lee Advocates to act on their behalf and offer legal services in pursuit of the matter which was in Kenya.
The matter having taken place at UGL offices within Karen in Nairobi, the advocates attempted filing a formal report at Karen Police Station but they were turned away when officers at the station demanded to interrogate the complainant who was in Dubai.
It is alleged that the directors of Bruton Gold Trading were also threatened to be exposed for their alleged underhand dealings if they reported the matter to police.
Without giving up, the entire process had to be choreographed and eventually a formal complaint on the alleged fraud was reported by Victor Lee Advocates at Kiambu Police Station in Kiambu.
OCS Kiambu Police Station Stephen Wainaina assigned Inspector Wambani to investigate the case.
Investigations into the matter continued as dCI detectives based at the station were enjoined in the probe. Detectives had to find a way of recording statements from the British nationals who were complainants and were in Dubai.
Officers would later retrieve details of the bank account where the British nationals had channeled their money to.
The bank account at ABC bank was registered under Amadi and Associates.
With the help of our sources, K24 TV also managed to retrieve statements for the bank account in question. A look at the account revealed that it was opened by Amadi’s law firm on June 10, 2020 as a clients account.
Anne Amadi and the bank
In a letter dated June 9, 2020 Amadi wrote to ABC bank, Greenhouse branch, requesting to have the said bank account opened with the bank.
She stated, “I have since left private practice and therefore exempted from holding a practicing certificate, however I have appointed Brian Amadi and Andrew Njenga Kiarie as signatories to the said bank account.” She further stated, “the mandate of the account shall be both of the signatories of the account to sign.”
By virtue of this letter, transactions in the bank account were the mandate of the two signatories. This forced detectives to summon Brian Amadi and Andrew Njenga for statement recoding.
Documents concerning the transaction were availed as detectives began a manhunt for a man who had turned a suspect - one Daniel Ndegwa Kang’ara alias Daniel Muriithi, who was now missing.
At the same time, Victor Lee Advocates were in hot pursuit to have a refund for the funds deposited in the bank account linked to Anne Amadi and be refunded to their client, the two British nationals in Dubai, which proved futile.
A year later, Daniel Muriithi emerged. He allegedly contacted the two directors of Bruton Gold Trading instructing them to get in touch with yet another man identified in court papers as Johnstone Muchai Njoroge, who would facilitate the shipment of their consignment that had been stopped in Kenya.
Supposedly, the court case which halted the shipment had been finalised. Unkown to him, detectives at Kiambu Police Station were on his trail.
Meanwhile, Johnstone Muchai Njoroge continued to pile pressure on the two British business partners to come to Kenya and finalise the deal so as to have their gold shipment ready.
A meeting was staged through their representative in Kenya which involved police officers.
Muchai met the representative of the two British nationals and took them to an office along Lenana Road in Nairobi’s Kilimani where the deal was to be sealed.
Officers who were on standby pounced on Muchai arresting him and seven other suspects who were found in the premises.
At the premises, motor vehicles which had been used to ferry the two directors Of Bruton Trading from JKIA when they arrived in Kenya in 2021 to meet Muriithi were impounded.
Gold smelting machines and suspected gold pellets were also recovered.
The impounded motor vehicles were taken to Kilimani Police Station under the command of DCIO Kiambu East as the seven suspects got detained at Kiambu Police Station.
Arrests
Upon the arrest of Johnstone Muchai, officers heightened their operation in the hunt against Muriithi. A raid at a house within Amara Ridge in Karen saw the arrest of Muriithi as officers recovered a number of exhibits as attached in their court submission.
Custom documents he had used to dupe the British foreigners were recovered among other critical documents which formed part of the evidence.
During this time, DCIO Kiambu East, under unclear circumstances, allegedly ordered for the release of all motor vehicles which had been detained at Kilimani Police Station as exhibits, as well as the release of the seven suspects arrested alongside Muchai at Kilimani.
Muriithi and Muchai would be left in custody at Kiambu Police Station and later released with a cash bail as investigators planned to have them charged.
It is unclear why it took several months for the two to be presented in court.
Muriithi was charged on March 14, 2023 at Kiambu Law Courts. He was accused to have defrauded Demetrios Bradshaw of a sum of Ksh64,654,700 by pretending he was in a position to sell him gold.
He also faced other charges related to forgery where he was accused of forging a court order claiming to be a genuine document stopping the shipment of the alleged gold.
The charge sheet further elaborated charges linked to uttering fake customs certificates, Muriithi had used as part of the scheme.
On his part, Muchai was charged on April 25, 2023 at the same Kiambu Law Courts, where he faced charges related to conspiracy to defraud.
Anne Amadi sued
As the criminal case in Kiambu court continued, an advocate identified in court documents as Murage Juma and company advocates acting on behalf of Bruton Gold Trading, made a step to file a civil suit against Anne Amadi of Amadi and Associates at a Milimani High Court.
In his demands, the applicant sought orders to have Anne Amadi, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary and as the registered proprietor of Amadi and Associates bank accounts be frozen for alleged money laundering and fraudulent transactions leading to fraud.
When asked how he obtained the police documents which were at Kiambu Police Station to file his civil suit, Murage had this to say; “There are two ongoing criminal matters and all the documents that were relied on the civil suit form part of the court records and the public records in those two criminal proceedings. So, if you want to access them, you can get them there.”
K24 TV learnt that Amadi’s law firm had written to the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome seeking a clarification on how documents which were being used in this case landed in the hands of a civilian from Kiambu Police Station.
K24 TV’s efforts to have a response over the same proved futile.
Upon hearing the matter, Justice David Majanja gave orders freezing the said bank accounts which were linked to Anne Amadi, but the law firm would appeal the ruling and the same bank accounts were unfrozen in a virtual ruling dated June 9, 2023 by Justice Alfred Mabeya.
Who’s targeting Amadi?
It has however remained unclear the person who was targeting the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, having in regard the ruling by Justice Alfred Mabeya which failed to reveal any criminal demeanour or unlawful conduct involving the CRJ in the entire transaction process.
The court however ruled that signatories of the said bank accounts have a case to answer on what transpired leading to the gold fraud and loss of the over Ksh60,833,056 involving the two British nationals.
The lawyer representing the foreigners in the criminal suit was contacted to have a word over the progress of the case, but he asked to be allowed to seek instructions from his clients.
Both the civil and the criminal matters are pending before a court of law as the wheels of justice continue turning.
