Who doesn’t like gold? I mean the word gold is synonymous with millionaires and most of us are tired of being broke. So, at the mention of the word, we all light up.
Since many wish to be in this business, opportunists have found several methods of defrauding those interested in the trade, and here is why they are succeeding.
A common trend in the fraud cases is that there is a demand for hefty upfront payments to facilitate the processing of documents, after which no export takes place.
Two factors make gold traders fall victim easily to fraudsters operating from Nairobi.
First, Kenya is and has never been a mass gold-producing country. In fact, the little gold produced is dug up from unconventional mines and river beds in western and northern Kenya.
According to the World Gold Council, the country had an average of just 1.76 tonnes of gold reserves last year. Only 160 kilograms of the metal was mined in the same period.
Second, the Democratic Republic of Congo is said to sit on $23 trillion worth of minerals, but the vast country has been ruined by internal conflicts for many years.
In Nairobi, fraudsters pretend they can get gold from DR Congo for between $20,000 and $25,000 per kilogram.
It is this huge price variation that makes traders think they can make a killing if they get gold from Kenya.
Once they land, the foreigners are given first-class treatment from the airport to being booked at top hotels.
The con artists then ask them to pay the export processing fees after being provided with documents that appear genuine.
After making a payment, excuses crop up, making the clients part with more money until they give up.
Be warned lest they manipulate you.