Flashy, controversial businessman Kevin Obia has been sentenced to one year in jail in the Sh13.7million fake gold saga.
In a ruling by Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi, Obia was found guilty of defrauding an Australian businessman over Sh13.7 million under the pretense that he would sell him 7kgs of gold.
Obia has also been given the option of paying Sh300,000 fine.
The case dates back to 2015 where Obia, together with Jared Otieno who has been missing obtained Euros 127,000 (Sh13.7 million) at the Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, from Christian Gallati by falsely pretending he would sell him 7kgs of gold.
Defending himself in court, Obia stated that he had never been in the gold business neither has he ever handled gold bars.
“I have never handled gold bars, neither am I in the gold business. I have never engaged in that illegal gold trade,” he said.
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In a different account of events in 2019, Kevin Obia was caught on camera wielding a gun at a security guard in Kileleshwa.
He was arrested and presented at the Milimani Law Courts before Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ooko. He was charged and later released on Sh500,000 cash bail or an alternative Sh1 million bond.
Obia is not new to controversies as despite claiming to be a Kenyan, there are speculations that he is a Nigerian who gained entry into the country through dubious means.
He leads a very flashy lifestyle and claims to be untouchable in the corridors of justice.
