23-year-old Kenyan lady has her money gift worth million of Shillings forfeited to government

* After it was established that the gift was the product of money laundering

* Sent by billionaire Marc De Mesel, a Belgian YouTube crypto personality

* Who did not explain or disclose the source of the money

Maravi Express

The High Court in Kenya has allowed the government to confiscate a Sh102 million love gift that was sent to a 23-year-old student named Felista Nyamathira Njoroge by her billionaire boyfriend who is abroad.

A report by Nation Media Group by Richard Munguti, the judgment was handed down by Justice Esther Maina on Thursday (May 25) allowing the Kenyan government to keep the money held in two co-operative bank accounts belonging to Nyamathira after it was established that the gift was the product of money laundering.

The report says judge ordered the confiscation of the funds because the billionaire Marc De Mesel, a Belgian YouTube crypto personality, did not explain or disclose the source of the money.

In what is described as a landmark judgement, Justice Maina is reported to have said the Belgian was given the opportunity to explain how he earned his money, which he lavishes on young women around the world, but failed to do so.

And in her judgment — in the absence of the explanation — Justice Maina ruled the state was benefiting from the money secretly wired into the country by the overseas crypto-personality.

The judge also granted an application by the country’s Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) to declare the funds as proceeds of crime, saying 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 added that in the absence of disclosure of the source of the funds, the likely conclusion is that the source of the money is money laundering.

As a result, she said, the court has no option but to order that the money in the two bank accounts be forfeited to the state.

The report discloses that Nyamathira hit the headlines in 2021 when she revealed that law enforcement detectives had intercepted a gift of money sent to her by a Belgian lover.

The woman is reported to have complained of mistreatment at the hands of the State Criminal Investigation Department for withholding the Sh102 million sent to her for her personal use.

Evidence presented in court showed that the money was paid into a Co-operative Bank account in four transactions between August 4 and 6 in 2021, “raising suspicions that the agency was owned by the said Nyamathira. The recipient of the money has remained a mystery, despite a legal action to recover the money,” said the report.

The Belgian described as a tycoon businessman, was also in the spotlight after he also transferred Sh257 million to three other Kenyan women — Tabby Wambuku Kago (Sh108 million), Jane Wangui Kago (Sh49 million), Serah Wambui (Sh100 million).

The Belgian is also reported to have transferred $229,980 on August 4 the same year followed by US$231,980 the next day. On 6 August, Mesel transferred the money twice, US$224,980 and US$227,980 — into Nyamathira Njoroge’s account.

In the transaction declaration documents, the Belgian national is reported to have told the court that Nyamathira — a student at the Nairobi Technical Institute — was “free to use the money to ensure financial security for our future children” and that he gave the money to the woman as a gift of love.

However, the money has been frozen amid suspicions over the source of the cryptocurrency trader’s millions, pending the outcome of the confiscation case as the ARA alleged that the Belgian national and Nyamathira could be involved in an international money laundering scheme.

The report further says a month after the ARA filed the recovery suit, the real identity of the woman who was sent the cash came into question on January 26, 2022 after two sets of lawyers clashed in court and were talking about different people.

“But in her ruling, the judge declined to address the issue of Nyamathira’s legal representation,” concludes the report.