40 days: 6 Kenyans wanted in US over theft of KSh 96m from American universities
This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.
- The US is seeking the extradition of six Kenyan nationals over an alleged business email compromise scheme targeting American universities and government agencies
- The six suspects face federal charges in Virginia including conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft
- A Nairobi magistrate ordered three of the accused to be held at Kileleshwa Police Station for 14 days as extradition proceedings continue
The US government has formally requested the extradition of six Kenyan nationals accused of running a sophisticated email fraud operation.
The operations allegedly diverted more than KSh 96 million from American universities and government institutions.
The suspects named in the proceedings are Elvis Omari Obaigwa, Francis Mobisa Asanyo, Peter Omari, Linus Karani, Bernard Morara Osoro, and Godfrey Julius Mbogori.
US prosecutors want the six transferred to stand trial before a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, where a grand jury has already issued warrants for their arrest.
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How the alleged fraud worked
Court documents filed at the Milimani Court in Nairobi describe a scheme built around deception and digital impersonation.
Investigators allege the suspects registered internet domains crafted to closely resemble those of legitimate organisations that routinely transact with US government agencies.
They then created email accounts on those lookalike domains and used them to contact staff at victim institutions, instructing them to redirect pending payments into accounts the syndicate controlled.
The funds were first received by recruited "money mules" based in the United States before being moved rapidly and laundered back to Kenya through local accomplices and financial channels.
This layering of transactions is a hallmark of Business Email Compromise (BEC) fraud, which the FBI consistently ranks among the costliest forms of cybercrime globally.
Extradition proceedings under way in Nairobi
During recent hearings at the Milimani Court, a magistrate ordered Omari, Asanyo, and Obaigwa to be remanded at Kileleshwa Police Station for 14 days while authorities process the required documentation under Kenya's extradition framework.
The remaining three suspects were not confirmed to be in custody at the time of reporting.
Kenya and the United States maintain a bilateral extradition treaty, and the accused retain the right to contest the request before Kenyan courts.
An extradition hearing does not determine guilt or innocence; instead, the court assesses whether the request satisfies the conditions set out in Kenyan law and the applicable treaty.
The charges the six men face in the United States include conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, offences that carry potential sentences of several decades in a US federal prison upon conviction.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.