Aston Lukoye
- Lawyer Stephen Juma Ndeda faces charges of money laundering, forgery, and fraud.
- Ndeda denied all charges and was released on bail, with terms set at Sh1 million bond or Sh200,000 cash bail.
- The charges stem from an investigation by the DCI’s Anti-Banking Fraud Investigations Unit, tracing back to June 2020.
City lawyer Stephen Juma Ndeda has been charged with multiple criminal offenses, including money laundering, forgery, and fraud, raising questions about his involvement in a high-profile financial scandal. The lawyer appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Boaz Ombewa at the Kahawa Law Courts, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) launched an investigation after receiving intelligence reports linking Ndeda to suspicious financial activities. The investigation uncovered that his law firm, Ndeda & Company, had received USD 52,490,000 (around Sh6.8 billion) via wire transfers, allegedly for the purchase of a 50-acre parcel of land in Kajiado County.
The funds were tied to a land sale agreement between vendor Andrew Simiyu and purchaser Alguns Limited. The sale price was set at Sh60,000,000, with an initial deposit of Sh5,000,000 expected within 90 days. However, the massive funds raised suspicions, as Alguns Limited is linked to arms trading, leading investigators to suspect a broader international money laundering and arms smuggling syndicate.
On June 20, 2023, Ndeda attempted to dispose of the funds through a transaction at UBA Kenya Bank Limited’s Upper Hill branch in Nairobi. However, the bank reversed the transaction, citing non-compliance with internal anti-money laundering policies and regulatory guidelines.
Stephen Ndeda’s legal troubles have shone a spotlight on potential involvement in international financial crimes. As investigations continue, the case will likely reveal further details about the possible connection to an arms trading syndicate and broader money laundering operations. The legal proceedings will determine Ndeda’s fate, but the charges already cast a shadow over his legal career.
