A man who allegedly posed as an official of the High Commission of Canada in Nairobi has been charged with defrauding travellers of Sh51.2 million over a span of two years.
Brian Reeves Obare, who purported to be a consul at the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi, has been charged with fraudulently obtaining Sh51,244,650 from Golden Kenya Travel Consultants Limited (GKTCL) by pretending to be in a position to process Canadian visas for their clients.
Mr Obare is facing charges of fraudulently obtaining the money on diverse dates between January 1, 2022 and January 31, 2024 in Nairobi, with intent to defraud GKTCL.
The has also been charged with obtaining money by false pretences, acquisition of proceeds of crime, contrary to Section 4 of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, and personation contrary to Section 382 of the Penal Code.
Mr Obare is facing further charges of buying a top-of-the-range vehicle – a Land Rover of registration number KDM 279R – while knowing that the money he used in the transaction on June 5, 2023 had been fraudulently obtained.
At the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi Mr Obare denied that between January 1, 2022 and January 31, 2024, within Nairobi County, he falsely presented himself as a consul working for the Canadian High Commission in Kenya.
Brian Reeves Obare when he appeared before the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on October 31, 2024.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
According the prosecution, Mr Obare presented himself as a consul capable of processing visas for travellers jetting out to Canada.
The court also heard that Mr Obare received money from dozens of hopeful travellers who were eventually left stranded, arrested at airports or turned back during transit.
While testifying before the trial magistrate, Paul Mutai, Ms Lydia Nyagala, a former employee of GKTCL, said the company engaged the accused between March 2022 and November 2023 to facilitate Canadian visa applications for its clients.
Ms Nyagala told the court that Mr Obare presented himself as a consul attached to the High Commission of Canada in Kenya..
She recalled that she met the accused at Embassy House in Nairobi’s central business district, where he introduced himself as a consular official at the High Commission.
The court further heard that Ms Nyagala and the accused entered an agreement in which clients wishing to travel to Canada would pay the required fees to GKTCL, which would in turn remit the same to Mr Obare for processing the visas.
The agreed fee per client was Sh450,000, with an initial deposit of Sh124,500.
Ms Nyagala further told the court that the firm collected passports and supporting documents from clients, including passports, identity cards, birth certificates, marriage certificates, academic papers, digital photographs, police clearance certificates, Covid-19 certificates and yellow fever cards, which were then forwarded to the accused together with payments.
Ms Nyagala said communication with Mr Obare was mainly through phone calls and WhatsApp, and that the accused would later send documents allegedly meant for biometrics before demanding the full payment. Upon request, clients’ passports would be handed over to him.
According to the witness, fewer than 50 passports were submitted, but none of the applicants ever successfully travelled to Canada.
Ms Nyagala told the court that some clients were arrested at airports, others were denied boarding, while several were returned to Kenya from Addis Ababa and Dubai during transit.
She added that the accused later demanded an extra Sh50,000 per client, claiming he had contacts at the airport who could facilitate their departure.
But even after the clients paid the additional fees, their visas would eventually be declared invalid.
According to Ms Nyagala, all efforts to verify the matter with the Canadian diplomatic mission in Nairobi proved futile.
The court further heard that investigations established that the accused had never worked for any Embassy of High Commission in Kenya and that none of the visas issued were valid.
On the financial trail, Ms Nyagala said payments were made to bank accounts and mobile phone numbers provided by the accused, with total payments estimated at Sh82 million.
The court heard that, due to missing records, the firm could only account for Sh51.2 million through receipts and transaction documents produced in court.
Ms Nyagala said that Golden Kenya Travel Consultants Limited refunded about Sh34 million to clients after the fraudulent scheme was exposed.
Mr Obare was arrested after confirmation from the Canadian High Commission that he had no official links to their diplomatic mission.
