•The suspect is said to have carried out his illegal mission by impersonating a senior procurement officer in various government ministries.
•Detectives apprehended him on Tuesday morning.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has apprehended a suspected fraudster who allegedly stole tens of millions of shillings from unsuspecting Kenyans and foreigners.
The suspect is said to have carried out his illegal mission by impersonating a senior procurement officer in various government ministries.
Detectives apprehended him on Tuesday morning.
David Ambuku alias General, according to DCI boss George Kinoti, has been fabricating fraudulent tender documents and local purchase orders before convincing bidders and potential suppliers that he will award them lucrative contracts.
During the arrest, he was rescued from a water tank, where he had nosedived to avoid capture.
“Ambuku, who conspired to defraud two merchants Sh47.3 million by using forged tender documents for the ministries of Interior and Labour, nearly drowned after plunging into the water tank at the sight of financial investigations detectives who raided his house at Kimathi estate, along Jogoo road, early Tuesday morning,” DCI boss Kinoti said.
DCI described him as a man who enjoys wearing well-tailored suits, which helps him cut a fine figure of a senior procurement manager capable of awarding and influencing tender issuance.
“Innocent merchants, mostly young ladies and foreigners looking for investment opportunities, are then convinced that they have met the boss and are forced to part with large sums of money in order to influence the awarding of contracts in their favor. They are then given bogus local purchase orders in order to supply the goods before Ambuku disappears “DCI was added.
One of his victims, a Chinese national, lost Sh26 million after being led to a meeting with the ‘procurement officer’ in a boardroom at the Ministry of Labour’s headquarters.
The suspect, described as a man with a knack for obtaining millions of shillings from unsuspecting investors, has previously posed as a senior military official at defence headquarters and obtained over Sh26 million from a would-be investor, according to DCI.
The scammer has over ten pending cases in various courts, and the DCI claims he was playing detectives before he was apprehended.
On Wednesday, he will be arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts to enter a plea.
“Anyone who has fallen victim to Ambuku’s schemes is asked to report to the Economic crimes unit at DCI headquarters,” the DCI said.
