Senior judge linked to fake money

Counterfeit currency suspect Arafat Omar alias Omar Rashid . RIGHT: His fake ID and fi rearm certifi cate / COURTESY

The National Intelligence Service are investigating a case that has linked a senior judge to fake currency syndicate.

Two people Arafat Omar, alias Omar Rashid  a Kenyan) and Fidel Ako a Ghanaian were arrested and charged  on Monday by  the Transnational Organised Crime Unit and the police.

However Ako who was charged for other offences, including money laundering, was released on  Sh200,000 cash bail while Omar was left being interrogated by police.

The two were were arrested in Nairobi after they were  found in possession of fake currency amounting to $523,900, Sh500,000 genuine Kenyan currency, a Taurus pistol belonging to Omar and several rounds of ammunition.

Omar’s arrest has suprised many as he has been linked with a well-known judge.

According to the investigation that has been done Omarand the said judge have been in communication on several occasions, and have a sexual relationship.

According to a source, “We are trying to ascertain the nature of this peculiar relationship and whether the judge could have been a victim or an accomplice to the cartel.”

If the judge was a victim, why was the matter allowed to go unreported, allowing the cartel to continue exploiting innocent Kenyans? the source asked.

The source further added saying, “And how could a person of such senior stature fall prey to the machinations of a criminal cartel?”

The judge, according to investigators is likely to be called as a witness or be charged alongside Omar as an accomplice.

Before the arrests complains from the public had it that  the two alongside others had defrauded them on the pretext  they would supply genuine US dollars brought into the country for use by United Nations missions.

Omar posses himself as a Sudanese army commander,by the name Rashid Ashid, with a fake Arabic accent

He is introduced to a potential victim by a mutual friend as a Sudanese investor living abroad and planning to bring foreign currency into the country.

The foreign currency is then used to lure the victim into giving money to cater for certificates of origin and taxes. At some point the victim is shown fake dollars with some markings. The cartel then claims  the marks can only be removed using a particular device and specific chemicals.

The syndicate runs rings round the victim, constantly shifting goal-posts while soliciting more money and promising repayment with a high interest rate. Most victims, upon realising they have been conned, are too embarrassed to report.

The main targets are women. In another case, Omar is said to have conned the wife of another judge out of Sh30 million. He also made unsuccessful attempt to con the owner of an airline, whose plane crashed in Sudan, by offering to help her get payment from an insurance company that covered the aircraft.

During that meeting, Omar introduced himself as Arafat, a diplomat based at the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi.

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