Kenyan National Remains Jailed in UAE for Fraud Committed While He Was Already in Prison

James Kariuki Thiong’o, a Kenyan national, remains imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), embroiled in a protracted legal battle to clear his name after being convicted of fraud he claims was committed by an imposter using his stolen identity. 

The case underscores the pitfalls of identity theft and the complexities of navigating foreign legal systems. In May 2020, amidst the economic upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kariuki travelled to the UAE in search of employment after losing his security guard position. During his job hunt, he encountered a Nigerian national who offered him a potential opportunity. As part of the hiring process, Kariuki provided his residency permit and other identification documents. 

The individual subsequently disappeared, leaving Kariuki without his vital documents and unaware that his identity was being used for illicit activities.
On August 13, 2020, UAE authorities arrested Kariuki along with a Ugandan national, accusing them of electronic fraud involving 1,180,500 dirhams (AED), equivalent to approximately Sh41.6 million. Prosecutors alleged that an individual impersonating Kariuki had received AED325,000 (Sh11.4 million) as part of the scheme.

Despite his vehement denials and assertion that he never received any funds, Kariuki was convicted on September 15, 2020, on charges of "seizure by using information technology." He was sentenced to one year in prison at the Sharjah Correctional and Penal Institution, followed by deportation. His pleas that his identity had been fraudulently used were disregarded by the court.
Complicating matters further, a separate fraud scheme surfaced in early 2021 while Kariuki was incarcerated. 

This incident involved the theft of AED2 million (Sh70 million) from two UAE companies: Arab Rock Engineering and Oceanic Wave International. According to court records, the fraud was initiated by creating a deceptive email address that closely resembled the legitimate communication channel of Arab Rock Engineering. The fraudulent email, "ornandsa1@...", mimicked the genuine address "omandsa1@...". The imposter, posing as Arab Rock Engineering, persuaded Oceanic Wave International to deposit AED2 million into what they believed was the company’s bank account.

Initially, the funds were transferred to the Bank of Oman. Shortly thereafter, Arab Rock Engineering received a fraudulent email instructing them to redirect the payment to a new account at Emirates NBD bank. The transfer was executed in two tranches, one in January 2021 and the other in February of the same year. The fraudulent activity was discovered when Oceanic Wave International sought confirmation of payment from Arab Rock Engineering, which denied having received the funds.

Despite the fact that the second fraudulent activity occurred while Kariuki was serving his prison sentence for the initial conviction, UAE courts held him responsible for the crime. In a judgment described as flawed by his attorney, Kariuki was found guilty of electronic fraud, fined AED2 million, and subjected to an annual interest charge of nine percent. Jumaa Maleh of Maleih Advocates & Legal Consultants, Kariuki’s lawyer, contends that the conviction is fundamentally unjust.

In official court filings, Maleh argues that it was physically impossible for Kariuki to have participated in the fraud or received any money, as he was incarcerated at the time the transactions occurred. Despite this, no effective defence was presented in court to exonerate him. Further investigations reveal that transactions continued to be processed through the fraudulent bank accounts even after Kariuki was imprisoned. The accounts remained active, processing financial operations, including five transactions valued at AED1.1 million. 

Cheques were cashed at banks using the stolen identity, despite Kariuki's confinement and inability to access financial institutions. Since his detention in September 2020, Kariuki has been struggling to prove his innocence and demonstrate that he was a victim of identity theft, not the perpetrator of the fraud schemes. Unable to pay the AED2 million fine, he remains incarcerated while awaiting a resolution to his appeal. His lawyer asserts that the original conviction failed to consider evidence proving that an unknown fraudster had exploited Kariuki’s stolen documents. 

The absence of proper legal representation during his initial trial left him vulnerable to the court’s ruling, which his defence team argues contained inconsistencies and legal contradictions. Prior to his arrest, Kariuki had worked as a security guard for Transguard Group LLC for seven years before being laid off due to company restructuring. He had no prior criminal record. His lawyer argues that the court ignored critical evidence, including documentation proving his incarceration during the second fraud case.

The Ugandan national arrested alongside Kariuki was acquitted, despite allegedly receiving AED755,000. This discrepancy raises further questions about the fairness and consistency of the legal processes applied in Kariuki’s case, according to his attorney. Kariuki’s appeal is currently pending, and his legal team is hopeful that the court will overturn the previous ruling based on new evidence. His lawyer maintains that the judgment against him was flawed in both its legal reasoning and investigative approach, violating his fundamental right to a proper defence.