Underdeals at Travellers Forex – Weekly Citizen

Police in India are looking for an Asian Jitu Soni said to hiding in Nairobi’s upmarket Kitisuru.

Jitu Soni is allegedly linked to prostitution and secretly recording videos of prostitutes and their high profile clients. Soni allegedly uses the videos in Kenya and India to extort money from those caught in the act. The money extorted is paid through Travellers Forex Bureau branches in Nairobi, it sis claimed.

Soni is sister of Jayshree Mawjee who is married to Bipin Mawjee.

Marriage between Jayshree and Bipin is on the rocks after one party started cheating on the other.

Travellers Forex Bureau is associated with the couple and is allegedly used in money laundering in Kenya.

Sources with the family claim, Bipin sold his house and moved to Australia. Bipin using court petitions is alleged to have shortchanged his brother in property ownership. Bipin also owns Purple Haze Kilimani. He openly complained Jawshree was having an affair with a well known member of the Asian community in the banking industry.

Bipin, it is claimed, shortchanged his brother Harish and went ahead to frustrate his widowed mother.

Travellers Forex Bureau recently featured in a case in which Aba Mpesha of

Mpesha Ltd – a briefcase firm, looted millions of shillings from the Central Bank of Kenya through the fraudulent sale of Treasury bonds.

Mpesha Enterprises had no permanent address and nor relevant papers. Mpesha’s real name is Alex Ribero Ngugi.

On February 7 2003, Sh95 million was transferred to the account by order of Dyer Blair Investment Bank, through Stanbic Bank.

Immediately, Sh16.5 million in cash was withdrawn while Sh41 million in five separate banker’s cheques was transferred to Paramount Universal Bank.

Travellers Forex Bureau was paid Sh924,000 in what has emerged, a money laundering plot.

Come February 24 2003, another Sh90 million was paid by Dyer and Blair again. From the payment, Sh1.5 million was made in favour to Travellers Forex Bureau.

According to sources, Travellers Bureau is also involved in unlicensed and unregulated online forex traders.

Online forex trading works similar to sports betting or live trading on a stock exchange. To operate, one just needs to download preferred forex trading app, open and create an account. Those accounts come with an e-wallet where a trader deposits funds using globally acceptable paying cards like MasterCard and Visa card.

In Kenya, Online Forex Trading is regulated by the Capital Markets Authority under Capital Markets (Online Foreign Exchange Trading) Regulations, 2017.

Under the regulation, Forex Brokers are required to maintain a minimum paid up capital of between Sh30 million and Sh50 million while money managers are required to maintain a minimum paid up capital of Sh10 million among other requirements.

Kenya’s capital markets regulator (Capital Markets Authority) estimates that about 50,000 people, including brokers, dealers and money managers, are in the business and are mainly using offshore platforms that are not overseen by Kenyan regulators to offer the service.

Why CBK has not taken action against Travellers Bureu has left industry players wondering loudly. In fact it is said, the bureau was one of those used to allegedly hide millions during last year’s directive to withdraw old Sh1000 notes from the market. It is said millions were deposited at the bureau in suspicious circumstances