Francis Maina Wambui, alias ‘Nick’ (26), and Zellic Alusa (25) were arrested in the company of two ladies for being caught in a bitcoin scam. They were in the lavish Milimani area in Nakuru where they run their operations.
The two students were hacking people’s credit cards and using them to buy Bitcoin, then they covert their funds to Kenyan currency.
According to reports, the suspects have been setting up false email addresses that they use to access the credit cards of unsuspecting victims. They purchase Bitcoin, which they later exchange for Kenyan money, and then they target people who reside abroad.
“In the sophisticated crime that is gaining currency in the country, the students create fake email accounts which they use to hack credit cards of innocent persons, especially those living in foreign countries.” The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) emphasized.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations also alleges that after converting the money, the two would use it to live lavishly, entertain young women and buy property.
“The gang operating from houses in the affluent Milimani neighborhood has been on our radar over the past few days and it was only a matter of time before our detectives smoked them out,” DCI said in a statement.
Some of the items recovered during the arrest include a land sale agreement entered on May 25 for a property valued at KES 850,000 in Juja, 5 laptops, 4 mobile phones, 2 WiFi gadgets, 3 hard drives, and assorted SIM cards which are all believed to be connected to their crime.
“Cyber forensic experts have since taken over investigations into the matter for a comprehensive analysis into the sophisticated crime,” DCI added.
Meanwhile, the two will remain in police custody pending arraignment.
The arrests come just months after the Central Bank of Kenya warned financial institutions against supporting cryptocurrency transactions.
Kenya still remains one of the leading countries in crypto adoption in Africa according to Chainalaysis.