A senior police officer narrated to the court how a Real estate agent made several transactions after fraudulently obtaining over Sh 16 million from a New York private auditor in US dollars.
Chief inspector Benjamin Chelanga attached at DCI headquarters who is a lead investigation officer took Milimani chief magistrate Susan Shitubi through several bank documents which included opening account documents indicating that the complainant operated the bank accounts at the two banks.
In his evidence in chief, the witness told the court that the accused Stephen Njoroge Mbugua, a Real estate agent lied to the complainant Joseph Gitau, a New York-based auditor that he was in a position to purchase land in Karen, Nairobi county.
The trial court was also informed that the accused, a Real estate agent, alleged to have contracted chickenpox after receiving more than Sh16 million from a New York-based private auditor.
Inspector Chelanga also took the court through Bank statements showing how money was deposited and withdrawn to pay the accused person by the complainant.
The complainant, a resident in the UK through his lawyer Robert Asembo, told the court that they communicated using emails which were also presented before court by the witness.
Pleading for justice, Mr Gitau had urged the court to legally avenge him since “it is well over four years since he paid for the land which never existed.”
The accused has since denied defrauding Gitau 16 million pretending he would sell him half an acre of land in a leafy Karen Estate, near Hillcrest.
In his evidence, Gitau said he wired the money into the accused’s dollar account held at Equity Bank Karen Branch on October 1, 2017.”
“Soon after I transferred the money through New York Bankers I called Mbugua for him to confirm whether he had received the same in his dollar account, at the Equity Bank, Karen Branch,” Gitau said.
It is on record that Mbugua confirmed receipt of the money after three days as he had switched off his phone, then flew to Philipines for specialised treatment after allegedly contracting chickenpox.
The magistrate heard in mid-2017, that Gitau travelled from New York to Nairobi to be shown by the accused the upmarket property he had bought.
“Mbugua had placed an advertisement. In the advert read out to the magistrate, Mbugua had alleged there were “half-acre plots lined for sale at Karen Nairobi.”
Chief Inspector Chelanga produced a sale agreement between Gitau and the accused over the sale of the said Karen property.
The hearing will continue on May 2, 2024.
