What is Nigerian fraud Ismail Mustapha doing in Kenya?

 The presence of Nigerian Instagram celebrity and suspected global fraudster Ismail Mustapha, alias Mompha, in Nairobi is raising eyebrows about his mission at a time the country is witnessing a surge in transnational crimes and money laundering.

Mompha, who is facing a number of money laundering charges in Nigeria, flew to Nairobi from his base in Dubai last weekend. While in the country, he has been hanging out with celebrities and suspected fraudsters like Mr Steve Mbogo.

Mr Mbogo, who is currently out on bail after being charged with defrauding a foreigner Sh102 million in 2018, even posted a picture of him and Mompha standing at a swimming pool in what appeared to be a hotel garden.

“We don’t count favours here. If I said I got you, I got you,” said Mr Mbogo, who unsuccessfully vied for the Starehe parliamentary seat in 2017.

Yesterday, Mompha, who has built a huge following on social media by displaying an extravagant lifestyle charactarised by expensive designer clothes, luxury cars, jewellery and first-class flights, was in the Maasai Mara.

As it has become the norm for him, he shared his location to the whole world through his favourite platform Instagram.

Uplift your dignity

“May Almighty Allah sustain your honour, uplift your dignity, answer your prayers, bless your home, forgive your sins, purify your heart and grant you and your family unlimited mercy and endless favour,” he said from a luxury camp in the Mara.

Even though it is difficult to tell what Mompha’s mission in Kenya is, his status as a suspected serial fraudster, his meeting with alleged fraudsters and the increasing transformation of Kenya into a global hub for fraud is what is sending alarm bells ringing among security agencies.

Court proceedings

Nairobi is increasingly being mentioned in court proceedings in other countries, especially in the US, as a prime location for execution of global wire frauds. Evidence produced in American courts from time to time has shown that a number of criminals charged in the US had accomplices in Kenya.

In Nairobi today, hardly a week passes without someone being arrested for printing counterfeit currency, selling fake gold, offering non-existent government contracts, purporting to give fictitious loans or anything that can be sold as air.

Mompha, who prefers to be called Sky Man, was a close friend of Nigerian Ramon Abass alias Hushpuppi said to be one of the world's most high-profile fraudsters. He recently pleaded guilty in a court in the US and now faces 20 years in prison.

On the day Hushpuppi pleaded guilty, Mompha, who claims he is the one who brought his notorious countryman from Malaysia to Dubai, said that Abass was arrested because he was careless and never listened. “He didn’t listen to me. He is stubborn hence his arrest and trial in the US,” said Mompha of Hushpuppi’s arrest.

Although Mompha is still a free man, he was in 2019 arrested by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and charged with 14 counts of allegedly laundering $77 million (Sh8.5 billion) into the country.

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