Four Chinese nationals have been arrested in Nairobi following investigations into an alleged sophisticated fraud scheme involving SIM swapping and money laundering.
The suspects were arrested after a businesswoman’s mobile lines were allegedly hijacked and used to receive funds suspected to have been obtained illegally.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the probe began after the complainant discovered that her two Safaricom lines had suddenly stopped working.
She was unable to make calls or access M-Pesa services, prompting her to report the matter to the police.
Detectives from the DCI Parklands station took up the case and began tracing the activity linked to the affected mobile lines.
Investigators established that the complainant’s mobile lines had allegedly been used to receive funds from a gaming and betting platform.
The money was then allegedly moved quickly through several mobile numbers and bank accounts linked to the suspects.
The transactions formed a trail that eventually led detectives to four Chinese nationals identified as Xiaoling Gu, Guodong Fu, Wenji Gao and Gu Xiaopeng.
The four were subsequently arrested.
Following the arrests, detectives searched the suspects’ premises and recovered several items believed to be linked to the investigation.
Among the items recovered were 15 Safaricom SIM cards and nine Airtel SIM cards registered under different individuals.
Detectives also recovered six SIM cards belonging to foreign nationals, six mobile phones, laptops and three ATM cards registered to different account holders.
Police further recovered Sh1,125,800 in cash.
The DCI said the items are part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged fraud and money laundering scheme.
The four suspects were arraigned at the Kibra Chief Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
They remain in custody pending a ruling on their bond application scheduled for September 4.
Meanwhile, detectives are continuing to follow the money trail and analyse transactions linked to the suspects.
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