NAIROBI, Kenya — Lawyer Conrad Anangwe Maloba has secured a temporary reprieve after the High Court extended conservatory orders barring his arrest and prosecution in connection with a high-profile gold fraud investigation involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye, sitting in Kiambu, extended the orders pending delivery of a judgment scheduled for next month, allowing Maloba and members of his law firm to remain shielded from criminal proceedings for now.
The court also granted the Law Society of Kenya additional time to determine whether it will participate in the case, which has attracted significant attention within legal circles because it touches on the limits of criminal investigations involving advocates acting for clients.
Maloba moved to court after being targeted by investigators over an alleged gold fraud scheme linked to funds that passed through his law firm’s accounts. He argues that his role was strictly professional and limited to managing money held in trust for a client.
The advocate maintains that his firm was instructed by Dubai-based company Sakina Commodities FZCO to hold USD 495,000 in an escrow arrangement and that the firm only received USD 10,000 as legal fees. According to court filings, he insists neither he nor his firm participated in negotiating, facilitating or executing the underlying gold transaction.
He further argues that all payments were processed pursuant to written instructions from the client and that the dispute stems from a legitimate advocate-client relationship rather than any criminal conduct.
The legal battle follows a dramatic series of events that saw Maloba arrested and held in custody before obtaining court orders securing his release.
He was later re-arrested on May 9 and presented before the Milimani Law Courts for plea taking, but the proceedings were halted after the High Court intervened and issued orders suspending the intended prosecution.
In his petition, Maloba contends that investigators are improperly using the criminal justice system to resolve what is essentially a professional dispute.
He has also pointed out that no complaint has been lodged against him before the Advocates Complaints Commission or the Advocates Disciplinary Tribunal, arguing that the continued pursuit of criminal charges is therefore unjustified.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, however, has strongly opposed the application. DPP Renson Igonga told the court that the petition is misconceived, filed in bad faith and amounts to an abuse of the judicial process intended to derail lawful investigations and prosecution.
Investigators have similarly defended their actions. In an affidavit filed before the court, Directorate of Criminal Investigations officer George Karanja said Maloba had failed to demonstrate that he would be denied a fair trial or that any prosecution against him would violate the law.
According to investigators, the case originated from a complaint lodged on March 24, 2026, by Andrew Adel Gaballa, a director of Sakina Commodities FZCO. Gaballa alleged that he had fallen victim to offences including obtaining money by false pretences, conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
The complaint formed part of a broader investigation into suspected fake gold transactions that have continued to draw scrutiny from Kenyan authorities.
Recent investigations by the DCI have uncovered multiple international gold scams involving foreign investors, escrow accounts and allegations of money laundering, highlighting the growing pressure on authorities to crack down on fraud networks operating through purported gold export deals. (The Star (https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2026-02-18-dci-arrests-suspect-in-multi-million-gold-fraud-inquiry-in-nairobi?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
The dispute has emerged against the backdrop of increasing complaints from foreign investors who claim to have lost millions of shillings in fraudulent gold transactions in Kenya. Several cases under investigation this year involve allegations that victims were persuaded to wire funds into accounts presented as escrow facilities before promised gold shipments failed to materialise. (The Standard (https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/national/article/2001544987/dubai-based-australian-loses-sh78-million-in-nairobi-fake-gold-scam?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
For now, Maloba remains protected by the court orders as he awaits a crucial ruling that could determine whether prosecutors will be allowed to proceed with criminal charges or whether the dispute will remain within the realm of professional and commercial litigation.
The High Court’s judgment next month is expected to provide important guidance on where the line should be drawn between an advocate’s professional obligations and potential criminal liability when handling client funds in high-value commercial transactions.
