The missing Kshs. 8 billion: Uncovering Kenya's pyramid schemes

On 14th January, 2009 the Hon. Minister for Co-operative Development & Marketing appointed a Taskforce to look into the operations of pyramid schemes. The appointment of the Taskforce was a reaction to the hue and cry from victims of pyramid schemes and other related schemes.

The Taskforce held public hearings countrywide where views from the victims were received. A lot of data regarding the particulars of the investors, directors and promoters of pyramid schemes was collected during the exercise. Interviews were also held to provide opportunities to directors of pyramid schemes, individuals and groups to give information on the role they may have played in the pyramid schemes saga.

270 pyramid and other related schemes were identified with148,784 investors registered as having invested a total sum of Kshs. 8,178,737,402.

The top ten institutions in terms of amounts invested were:

• DECI , founded by one George Donde and his sister, Mary Odinga with 93,485 investors amounting to a total of Kshs. 2,405,518,832.00
• Clip Investments Sacco Ltd 5,846 1,993,866,422.00: The taskforce discovered that a director of Clip Investments Sacco, Peter Ndakwe bought plots in Runda estate worth Kshs. 200 million. He later transferred the property to a company in Panama "at the height of complaints by investors". The transfers of the four plots in Runda L.R 1470/15,14970/14, 14970/7 and 14970/6 were made on July 11,2006 and April 20, 2007, when the crisis broke out.
• Kenya Business Community Sacco Ltd with 921 investors amounting to Kshs. 780,698,218.00. In early 2007, The Standard newspaper reported the founders of Deci (listed above) and Kenya Business Community had previously been involved in another financial scam, Kenya Akiba, banned in 2005. 
• Sasanet Investment Sacco Ltd with 629 investors amounting to Kshs. 739,948,412.00; and whose director is identified as Michael Chege. Sasanet allegedly bought 30 units of flats worth Sh60 million in Sunrise Estate, 11.5 acres of land in Nyari Estate, Nairobi, four flats along Chaka road in Nairobi and later sold 32 flats at Sh2.5million each in Nairobi’s Imara Daima Estate through his advocate Ajaa Olubayi. 
• Jitegemee Investment Sacco Ltd with 3,828 investors amounting to Kshs. 494,401,600.00. Jitegemee was faulted for dual registration both as a limited liability company and as a co-operative society.
• Circuit Investment with 1,392 investors amounting to a total of Kshs. 348,943,103.00. The director of that company which closed in September 2007 was Emilio Kifue Mwangi.
• Family In Need Organisation (FINO) with 4,580 investors amounting to Kshs. 157,280,553.00. Investors in the scheme were told they would double their initial investment after three weeks.
• Global Entreprenership with 9,206 investors and a portfolio amounting to Kshs. 139,006,632.00.
• Spell Investment with 544 investors amounting to Kshs. 120,326,860.00 whose deceased director was Boniface Anderson. At his death Sh200 million held in his account at Stanbic Bank was transferred to his mother. 
• Mont Blanq Afrique with 774 investors amounting to Kshs. 82,834,000.00. The directors are listed in the Task Force report as being the same as those for Jitegemee. 

Read the Report of the Taskforce on Pyramid Schemes here