Congolese man who orchestrated an elaborate gold fraud that duped a Ghanaian merchant out of $100,000 now finds himself behind bars in Kenya after trying to slip back across the Busia border, authorities said.
Puati Poba Dally, 35, was intercepted by immigration officials acting on a September 2023 stop order from Nairobi’s Operations Support Unit, which had received a complaint from the victim.
In a case highlighting the perils facing unwary gold traders, the Ghanaian’s path to financial ruin began last August when he met Mr. Puati, using the alias Osuman, at a hotel in Ghana’s capital. Posing as a Nigerian businessman residing in Uganda, Mr. Puati learned of the victim’s interest in buying and selling gold.
“He promised to introduce him to dealers in Uganda where he could then sell the gold in Dubai,” said DCI. The victim flew to Uganda on August 1, where Mr. Puati connected him with two alleged dealers called Ben and Hassan.
Over the ensuing weeks, the trio relentlessly milked the Ghanaian of $71,300 in fees for “documentation,” certifications, melting and taxes, all under the pretext of a 10kg gold purchase priced at $33,000 per kilogram. Payment was due on delivery to Dubai.
After fruitlessly awaiting his cargo in the UAE, the victim returned to Uganda on August 13 only to be told his gold was held up at Kenyan customs. In Nairobi, he was introduced to two more accomplices who conned him out of another $30,000 between August 14 and September 1, when they put him on a Dubai-bound flight claiming an attendant would secure his “safe containing gold.”
“Uncontrollable screams and wails” from the victim during takeoff forced his removal and initiated the OSU investigation that recently snared Mr. Puati, the investigator said. Kenyan authorities are now working to identify and apprehend other syndicate members in the cross-border scheme that preyed on naïve investors.
