The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has arrested four Chinese nationals in Nairobi over an alleged SIM-swapping and money-laundering scheme.
In a DCI statement obtained by Kenyans.co.ke, the directorate disclosed that the arrests followed a complaint from a businesswoman who discovered that two of her phone lines had suddenly stopped working.
The unexpected loss of service left her unable to make calls or use mobile money, prompting her to report the matter to police.
“Four Chinese nationals have been arrested in Nairobi following investigations into a sophisticated fraud scheme involving SIM swapping and money laundering, after a businesswoman’s mobile lines were hijacked and used to receive illicit funds,” the statement read.
DCI Headquarters off Kiambu Road, Nairobi.
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DCI Kenya
Detectives from DCI Parklands then launched investigations and began tracing activity associated with the affected lines.
Investigators found that the numbers had allegedly been used to receive funds from a gaming and betting platform.
The money was subsequently transferred through several mobile numbers and bank accounts linked to the suspects, with the trail eventually leading detectives to the four.
A search of premises linked to the Chinese nationals uncovered 24 mobile SIM cards registered under different names.
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 seized Ksh1.125 million in cash as investigations into the suspected financial network continued.
The four suspects were arraigned before the Kibra Chief Magistrate’s Court with a ruling on their bond application scheduled for Friday, September 4.
The case comes amid growing concern over cybercrime in Kenya, with the 2026 Interpol African Cyberthreat Assessment Report recording a 327 per cent rise in SIM-swap fraud in 2025, involving more than 123,000 fraudulent SIM cards and about USD 3.8 million stolen from mobile wallets.
A photo of several scattered sim cards
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Kenya Pics
