A Milimani court has convicted a businessman accused of defrauding a Chinese company of USD 1 million (approximately Sh156 million) in a fake mineral export scheme involving containers purported to contain tantalum niobium ore.
Lumumba Ulundu Patrick, also known as Gabriel Kulonda Ilungu alias Lumumba Patrick Byarufu, was sentenced to three years imprisonment or an alternative fine of Sh10 million after the court found him guilty of obtaining money by false pretences.
The court, however, acquitted him on a separate charge of conspiracy to commit a felony.
The prosecution had alleged that between August 7 and December 26, 2023, the accused, jointly with others not before the court, falsely represented to Yingchen (Shenzhen) International Trade Company Limited that he was in a position to sell and export 84 metric tonnes of tantalum niobium ore contained in three shipping containers.
According to court records, the complainant, Michelle Wu, an international trader based in China, transferred USD 1 million into an escrow account held by a Nairobi law firm after being assured that the consignment would be delivered.
However, investigations later established that the containers, which had been shipped to China, contained soil and other worthless material instead of the precious minerals.
In her judgment, Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego found that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused knowingly misrepresented the nature of the cargo with the intention of defrauding the complainant.
The court noted that scientific analysis conducted by experts established that the cargo did not contain the purported tantalum ore, with investigators concluding that the entire transaction was fraudulent.
The magistrate further commended investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and other agencies for unraveling what she described as a complex transnational fraud scheme involving multiple jurisdictions, financial transactions and shipment of containers through Kenyan ports.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that the Wu had initially been introduced to Ilungu in 2022 and later entered into a sale agreement for the purchase of the minerals.
The court heard that after the consignment arrived in China, inspection revealed that the containers contained soil rather than the agreed minerals, prompting investigations.
