A Spanish suspect accused of masterminding a Sh14 million gold scam in Nairobi fled to his home country after depositing a fake passport in court as part of his bail terms.
The man, Jean Emmanuel Morlon, but who has several aliases and is currently in custody in Spain, was arrested alongside 14 others, including controversial businessman Paul 'Prezda' Kobia, for allegedly defrauding Mr Antonio Cianci, a director at Iron and Steel DMCC, of Sh14 million on April 25 after pretending they could sell to him gold.
Detectives found that Morlon’s company, Duaf International Limited, situated in Nairobi’s upscale Riverside Drive, did not have a licence to trade in gold. Kenyan authorities, however, believe he is part of a fake gold syndicate operating in Nairobi.
And in dramatic details that paint Morlon as one of the most notorious criminals in Europe, the Nation can now reveal that he was jailed for being part of a gang involved in perhaps the largest expensive art heists in Spanish history. The Spanish national is suspected of often changing his identity. In Kenya, he adopted the French name Jeal Emmanuel Morlon, which he used in his business dealings and in the Nairobi court.
A search for his real Spanish name, Juan Manuel Candela alias El Sapo, reveals that he is an ex-convict who was involved in one of the largest art heists in Spain before moving to Kenya to set up Duaf International Limited to purportedly trade in gold.
Morlon was for a long time the leader of a gang accused of crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, robbery with violence, amputation of limbs, extortion, coercion, illegal possession of weapons, home invasion, illicit association and money laundering.
Records show that in August 2001, Morlon, alongside others, stole precious work of art valued at more than $50 million (Sh5.4 billion) from the Madrid home of the richest woman in Spain.
Ms Esther Koplowitz, a glamorous construction billionaire and aristocrat, was on vacation when the thieves raided her luxury home in a Hollywood-style operation and carted away 20 expensive art masterpieces comprising of paintings and six sculptures.
Morlon and his accomplices were later arrested by undercover American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Spanish agents posing as wealthy stolen art buyers at a glitzy hotel in Madrid.
Spanish media reported that the FBI was involved in the recovery after it was discovered that the thieves had planned to sell some of the pieces to an American.
So intricate was the purchase meeting that the hotel was monitored closely by 100 police officers posing as hotel employees, beggars and garbage collectors.
Morlon was sentenced to six years in prison, during which he reportedly wrote Amor Al Arte, a book in which he narrates how the robbery was carried out, those involved and where the loot ended up.
After his release from prison, Morlon is reported to have continued engaging in other serious crimes such as drug trafficking with networks in Africa, illegal fire arms dealings, smuggling, money laundering and even murder.
In the case Morlon is facing in Kenya, his co-accused include Kobia, Simon Kang’ara, Paul Gichuhi, Benjamin Mutisya, Patrick Ngula Mweu, Samson Kibet, Faith Kioko, Joyce Wenani, Miriam Nyambura, Consolata Thirindi, James Masai, Doreen Kathambi, Tanya Yvonne and Gabriel Ndururi Murage.
Together, the 15 were charged on July 22 last year with 12 criminal charges relating to conspiracy to defraud, obtain money by false pretenses, preparing to commit felony and forging stamps at the Milimani court and released on bond.
Morlon was, however, asked to deposit his passport in court since he was considered a flight risk. To date, however, the case is yet to be heard and the main suspect, Morlon, is not in the country to stand trial.
In his second last appearance in court, Morlon had applied and obtained a court order allowing a temporary release of his passport so that he could travel with the express instructions to return it on August 30, 2019.
He, however failed to show up in court on August 30, but did so on September 25, 2019 when he returned his passport.
Later, it emerged that Morlon had deposited a different passport from the one that was released to him.
Lawyers for the victim, Mr Cianci, filed a complaint at the Chief Magistrate's Court in Milimani indicating that the suspect was in contempt of court for failing to disclose that he had deposited two different French passports, namely number 14DR61011 and 19KR37756.
“In view of the above stated facts, it is our instructions to request this honorable court to order an inquiry into the circumstances leading to the switch of the two passports and to make appropriate orders in order to preserve the dignity of the court and for the purposes of ensuring justice is served without fear or favour,” Mr Cianci’s lawyer, John Katiku, told the court.
Subsequently, Morlon continuously failed to show up in court during the consequent mention dates, including November 22, December 6 and January 15 this year, leading to the issue of an arrest warrant against him and forfeiture of his cash bail.
After realising that the suspect had already left Kenya’s borders, the Directorate of Criminal Investigation issued an international warrant of arrest through Interpol. Morlon was finally arrested at Marbela, a rich neighbourhood in Madrid, Spain, while walking his dogs on June 16.
"He said that he had his residence in Kenya and that he had not been able to return due to the closure of borders decreed by the coronavirus pandemic," Spanish Media outlet Elmundo reported.
Extradition proceedings against him have already started. However, Spain is known to be reluctant to extradite its citizens, which further complicates matters for Kenyan authorities who have insisted that Morlon must be tried in Nairobi.
“The National Court will be the one who decides whether to accept their shipment to Kenya, since Spain, as a general rule, does not extradite its nationals,” the Spanish newspaper El Mundo has said about Morlon’s arrest.
