Abdirizak Kassim Bare, a prime suspect in a Brazilian sugar fraud case in which four businesspersons lost over Sh 100 million to his criminal syndicate, has today been arraigned.
The 46-year-old was arrested and subsequently arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts, following the completion of a meticulous investigation by the DCI on the ring of fraudsters who swindled the funds meant for importing 15,000 bags of the said food commodity.
The investigation established how, between May and October 2023, the unsuspecting victims were lured into a business deal to import the sugar, thereby making payments totalling over a hundred million shillings through five different bank accounts.
What followed were months of a wild goose chase, with the victims trying to reach out to a serious fraud ring that had since vanished without a trace.
Broke and desperate to recover their monies, they (victims) reported the matter to the DCI, where the Operation Support Unit commenced a methodical probe of the case, findings that were forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution for further legal action.
The ODPP made a decision that the named suspects be arrested and charged, preferring 8 counts, including obtaining money by false pretences, an offence that contravenes section 313 of the penal code. Consequently, the officers obtained warrants of arrest against the suspects.
Early today, the officers netted their first target, Kassim Bare, who, on arraignment, pleaded not guilty and was released on a Sh 3 million bond with the option of a cash bail of Sh 500,000.
The pursuit of the remaining suspects is underway.