Gold scams in Kenya: how to spot fake gold and buy safely

Kenya has a real, growing gold sector. It also has a well-organised gold scam industry in Kenya that targets foreigners with fake gold, sometimes for millions of dollars. Kenyan authorities have publicly warned about fraudsters using forged mineral dealer licences, export permits and assay reports. This guide explains how the scams work and how to buy processed gold safely.

General information only. If you think you have been targeted, contact the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and your embassy.

How the typical scam works

Reported cases follow a familiar script:

1. The offer. A contact, often met online or through an acquaintance, offers gold bars or dust well below the world price.
2. The paperwork. You receive official-looking documents: a dealer licence, an export permit, an assay certificate, sometimes a letter from a law firm.
3. The vault visit. You are shown "your" gold in a vault, office or safe chosen by the sellers. It may even pass a quick test.
4. The fees. Before export, new costs appear: duty, export processing, clearance, insurance, a "release fee". Each payment is urgent and each one leads to another.
5. The disappearance. The gold never ships, or the box that arrives contains brass, lead or gold-plated metal.

Victims are often experienced business people. The scams work because every individual step looks plausible.

The warning signs

• The price is below spot. Genuine sellers price gold against the international market price, less refining and transport costs. A large discount is the clearest warning sign.
• Upfront fees for documents or duty. Legitimate deals do not need you to pay a stream of fees to strangers before you receive anything.
• The seller controls everything. Their vault, their lab, their lawyer, their clearing agent. You never independently verify anything.
• Pressure and secrecy. "Other buyers are waiting", "do not tell the bank", "the officials need a small token".
• Cash or personal accounts. Requests to pay cash or wire money to individuals rather than a licensed entity.
• Documents you cannot verify. Licences and permits that the issuing authority cannot confirm.

A safe process for buying processed gold

1. Deal only with licensed dealers

Dealing in gold in Kenya requires a licence under the Mining Act 2016. Verify the dealer's licence directly with the Ministry responsible for mining, using contact details you find yourself, never ones supplied by the seller.

2. Insist on an independent assay

Choose the lab yourself, ideally an accredited one, and be present (or have your representative present) when the sample is taken and sealed. Compare the result with the seller's certificate. Fire assay is the standard method for gold purity.

3. Agree the price against the market

Fix the price as a percentage of the international gold price on a stated date, adjusted for purity and any refining. If the maths only works because the gold is "cheap", it is not real.

4. Pay through escrow

Funds should go to an escrow held by a licensed bank or an advocate's client account, released only when agreed conditions are met: assay confirmed, export permit issued, goods delivered. Never pay fees to individuals.

5. Export legally

Gold leaving Kenya needs an export permit and the royalty paid on its value. A legitimate dealer handles this openly and can show you the documents before money is released.

6. Keep a paper trail

Keep copies of every licence, permit, assay certificate, invoice and payment. They protect you if anything goes wrong and are needed to prove legal origin at the destination.

How Aurelot approaches gold lots

Every gold lot listed on Aurelot must come from a dealer whose licence we have checked, with the assay certificate attached to the listing. Buyers can request an independent re-assay before funds are released from escrow, and we coordinate the export permit and royalty with the seller.

If a deal offered to you elsewhere matches the warning signs above, stop and get independent advice before paying anything.

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