Probe launched into fake Gates Foundation tender advert

A fake advert placed by fraudsters in the Daily Nation. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • The racketeers set up an email address with a domain name resembling that of the foundation, and asked suppliers to bid for tenders to supply fast moving consumer goods.

Detectives have opened investigations into a suspected procurement racket whose architects impersonated the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in an attempt to swindle suppliers through a fake advertisement.

The racketeers set up an email address with a domain name resembling that of the foundation, and asked suppliers to bid for tenders to supply fast moving consumer goods.

In the fake tender advertisement, the racketeers claimed to be a regional office of the charity run by the Microsoft founder and his wife, and asked companies interested to pay Sh4,100 as tender fees.

FRAUDSTERS
The Nation Media Group reported the matter to the authorities after the foundation clarified that it has no regional office in Nairobi.

The fraudsters purely transacted online while posing as the charity’s regional officials.

Safaricom has since blocked a till number that the fraudsters attempted to use for their scam, while NCBA Bank has frozen an account that was listed as an alternative deposit point for interested bidders in the fake tender advert.

Detectives have asked members of the public to report any information on the attempted fraud or its architects to the nearest police station as they look to crack the case and prosecute suspects.