Court Allows Gov’t to Confiscate 102M Gifted to Felista, College Student

The High Court, through Judge Esther Maina, has allowed the government to confiscate 102 million shillings sent to one Felista Nyamathira as a gift from her billionaire boyfriend abroad.

According to the judgement passed on Thursday May 25, the government will keep the money as it is part of a money laundering scheme.

The judge granted Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) permission to declare the funds as proceeds of crime, as the evidence presented in court by both the state and the two lovers showed that there was obvious money laundering.

The billionaire boyfriend, Belgian Marc De Mesel, a youtuber and crypto personality has yet to explain the source of his money.

Justice Maina said in the absence of the explanation, the state was benefiting from the money secretly wired into the country by the overseas crypto personality.

“I have analyzed and gone through the evidence tendered by the boyfriend, and it did not show the source of the funds that were transferred to the Kenyan girlfriend,” Judge Maina ruled.

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The college girl, Nyamathira, complained of mistreatment by DCI, complaining that the detectives had intercepted her 102m gift from boyfriend in 2021.

The money was deposited in two cooperative bank accounts between 4^th and 6^th of August in 2021 under Nyamathira.

The Belgian also transferred Sh100 million to Serah Wambui, Sh49 million to Jane Wangui Kago and Sh108 million to Wambuku Kago.

The money has been frozen amid suspicions over the source of the cryptocurrency trader’s millions, pending the outcome of the confiscation case.