Uganda’s notorious gold fraud syndicates have struck again—this time roping in high-profile foreign operatives, including a former FBI Special Agent, a former U.S. Army Ranger, and a U.S. Embassy employee in Sierra Leone, in what is shaping up to be one of the most dramatic cross-border scams of 2025.
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According to the victims, the team had pooled resources and ventured into the booming but dangerously murky gold trade in Uganda, only for their dreams of quick returns to evaporate in typical Kampala-style fashion.
Tarine Keve Fairman Sr
According to Red pepper , a local publication, the former FBI agent, Tarine Keve Fairman Sr, says he and his associate were swindled out of USD 330,000 (about UGX 1.166 billion).
A full evidence docket containing documents, audios, and videos to expose the entire operation have already been assembled by the FBI agent.
Tarine Keve Fairman Sr
The victims have vowed to track down all the fraudsters one by one and bring them to justice. Heads are set to roll given that the fraud victims include high-level operatives from some of the world’s most sophisticated security establishments.
Details and indentities of suspects will be in our subsequent publications.
But a hint: The cartel behind this fraud is allegedly tied to a Kampala-based refinery and with links to Kenyan national Elizabeth Esther Steenkamp.
Steenkamp, the Managing Director of Washa Lidjiwe Investments Limited, is already behind bars on accusations of obtaining money by false pretence and conspiracy to commit a felony. Prosecutors allege that between June and August 2025, she and accomplices conned American investor Vladimir Toussaint Yvens of USD 255,650 (UGX 980 million) in a fake 46-kilogram gold export deal. The money, investigators say, was demanded for “declaration fees, government royalties and documentation,” but the promised gold never reached New York—and the suspects allegedly went silent.
Her case is only one of many in what authorities now describe as an epidemic of gold fraud in Uganda. Fraudsters, armed with forged documents, shell companies, empty warehouses, and makeshift refineries, continue to lure unsuspecting foreign investors with promises of fast-track bullion exports.
Just weeks ago, the Anti-Corruption Unit and CID arrested seven suspects accused of fleecing a Nigerian businessman of USD 70,000 in a gold scam involving counterfeit bars. In September, prosecutors charged Luyima Godfrey, who allegedly duped a South Korean investor out of more than USD 600,000 using forged gold certificates and fake diplomatic clearances.
Public enforcement records show that over 56 individuals have been implicated in gold-related fraud cases this year alone. In several raids across Kampala’s rentals and informal refineries, investigators recovered up to UGX 900 million (≈ USD 240,000) in stolen funds within just eight months.
Stakeholders warn that while Uganda’s gold sector continues to expand, it is simultaneously breeding a surge in organised scams—fueled by weak regulation, document forgery, and the ease with which shell companies are created to trap foreign buyers hungry for quick profits.
As victims continue to speak out—including high-level operatives from some of the world’s most sophisticated security establishments—the pressure is mounting on Ugandan authorities to tighten oversight and dismantle the networks tarnishing the country’s mineral sector.
