University Student Loses Ksh102M Gifted By Belgian Lover Again
The judge ordered that the millions be confiscated as their source from De Mesel, a YouTube crypto personality, had not been explained and disclosed.
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The High Court on Thursday, May 25 allowed the government to seize Ksh102 million gifted to Felista Nyamathira Njoroge by Belgian tycoon, Marc De Mesel.
In the judgement handed down by Justice Esther Maina, the government was allowed to keep the money held in two local bank accounts belonging to Nyamathira after it was established that the gift was from proceeds of money laundering.
The judge ordered that the millions be confiscated as their source from De Mesel, a YouTube crypto personality, had not been explained and disclosed.
A bundle of Kenyan notes. /VIRALTEAKE
Justice Maina in the landmark judgement revealed that the philanthropist was allowed the chance to explain how he earned his money, which he lavishes on young women around the world, but failed to do so.
According to the judge, the absence of an explanation meant that the state was benefiting from the money secretly wired into the country by the overseas crypto-personality.
While granting the application by the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) to declare the funds as proceeds of crime, Maina said the evidence adduced in court by both the state and the two lovers showed that there was obvious money laundering.
"I have analysed and gone through the evidence tendered by the boyfriend and it did not show the source of the funds that were transferred to the Kenyan girlfriend," Judge Maina ruled.
She further noted that because the source of the funds was not available for disclosure, the likely conclusion is that the source of the money is money laundering, thus the court order for the millions to be forfeited to the state.
Nyamathira hit headlines in November 2021 when the court allowed ARA to freeze the mysterious Ksh102 million that was wired to the university student in August.
The Nairobi Technical Training Institute student had explained that she was gifted Ksh102,654,024 by De Mesel, a common name amongst the circles of cryptocurrency and investments, having amassed a wealth of huge magnitudes through bitcoins.
However, Nyamathira’s explanation failed to convince ARA, which then moved to court to seek orders to freeze the accounts until investigations were carried out. The agency revealed that the money could be proceeds of crime and money laundering.
Since then, Mesel was on the spot for wiring more than Ksh300 million to three other Kenyan women including Tebby Wambuku Kago, her sister Jane Wangui Kago and Sarah Wambui Kamanda.
Wambuku received Ksh113 million, Njoroge Ksh109 million, Wangui Ksh49 million, and Wambui Ksh100 million. The three women also claimed to be in a romantic relationship with the Belgian tycoon.
She however got back her funds on Monday, January 30 after the government agreed to refund the money it seized from her, following a request filed by ARA through lawyer Mohamed Adow to have the case against her dropped.
Another beneficiary was a Kirinyaga University student Timothy Waigwa, a 22-year-old, who was handed Ksh47 million.
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