Suspected Fraudster Arrested After Stealing Ksh.11 Million from a Businessman
A suspected fraudster was apprehended and charged after allegedly duping a Nairobi businessman out of Ksh.11 million in a bogus rice supply deal.
Anthony Mutisya 
Martin Shiamia Matchel, 31, appeared in court on Tuesday to face charges of conspiracy to defraud, stealing by agent, obtaining goods under false pretenses, and forgery of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) documents, all of which he pleaded guilty to.
According to a statement issued by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday, Matchel was apprehended on Sunday at the Namanga border point while attempting to flee to neighboring Tanzania.
"A manhunt for Matchel was launched, leading to his arrest on Sunday at the Namanga border point, as he was attempting to cross over to Tanzania to defraud yet another businessman,” Read a statement by DCI.
SERIAL FRAUDSTER POSING AS U.N AGENT CHARGED IN COURT
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) April 27, 2022
A Nairobi based businessman lost Sh 11 million to conmen posing as agents of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR) in yet another serious case of high level fraud being investigated by our detectives pic.twitter.com/EaEfhgcoh1
Matchel is said to have approached the businessman, Mohammed, in December last year, posing as a UNHCR agent and offering to introduce him to the UN supplies system, awarding him a bogus tender to supply 1,680 bags of rice to the UN.
A week later, Mohamed was given the go-ahead to proceed with the aforementioned deal, with Matchel promising that if assimilation was successful, he would be paid top dollar for his services.
Matchel emphasized the importance of the goods, claiming that the rice was needed for relief distribution to hungry refugees in a South Sudan camp, prompting haste.
He did, however, point out that the situation was being exacerbated by 'conflict' in Ethiopia, and he advised Mohammed to instead import the product from Tanzania at a lower cost.
Mohamed transferred a total of Ksh.11 million from his Equity bank account to an account belonging to Yazeed Rice Company in Tanzania after running a few samples for quality control procedures.
Matchel introduced his accomplice, Peris Nyawira, who pretended to be an Inspection Officer from the UNCHR and went to Arusha to inspect the goods' packaging.
After the shipment arrived in Kenya, Mohammed was told he would have to wait about a month for his payment to be processed. On February 6, 2022, he received a call that would later shock him, informing him that the entire deal was a hoax and that his rice had never left Nairobi and was instead being sold by rice vendors in local markets.
Mohammed, now suspicious, went to the United Nations office in Gigiri, where he was informed that the documents he was holding were all forgeries and that no such tender had been issued by the agency.
After Mohammed reported the case, the DCI launched a manhunt, which resulted in Matchel's arrest.
