{"id":100467,"date":"2024-10-27T09:02:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-27T09:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/10\/27\/263-travel-agencies-under-probe-for-conning-job-seekers-sh1bn\/"},"modified":"2024-10-27T09:02:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-27T09:02:54","slug":"263-travel-agencies-under-probe-for-conning-job-seekers-sh1bn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/263-travel-agencies-under-probe-for-conning-job-seekers-sh1bn\/","title":{"rendered":"263 travel agencies under probe for conning job seekers Sh1bn"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 27 \u2013 The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) says at least 263 travel agencies are under investigation for conning job seekers of more than Sh1 billion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A special team based at Nairobi Regional DCI is handling the cases so far involving 600 victims.<\/p>\n

According to Regional Criminal Investigations Officer Benson Kasyoki, the number of victims is expected to rise as investigations go on.<\/p>\n

He said the victims paid between Sh30,000 and Sh150,000 for them to secure the jobs in vain.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome had paid in full and others half before they realized they were being conned,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kasyoki said they are still receiving complaints from the victims adding the team is rushing to among others reclaim the lost money.<\/p>\n

So far, nine files are pending in courts, seven have been sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions with various recommendations while 21 cases are pending arrest of suspects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese suspects are at large after they among others switched off their mobile phones or changed their locations,\u201d he said in his office.<\/p>\n

Kasyoki also appealed to victims of the fraud to visit the Nairobi Area DCI offices for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a team that is pursuing the matter to the end. We assure the victims that they will get justice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So far, the National Employment Authority (NEA) has revoked the license of some of the affected agencies following a public outcry over accusations they conned job seekers of millions of shillings.<\/p>\n

Victims who include Kenyans and foreigners say they each paid up to about Sh150,000 to the companies that promised jobs in Canada, United Kingdom and Germany that never materialized.<\/p>\n

The DCI has recorded complaints from scores of victims who allege applications for travel and work documents were falsified which saw several of applicants issued with visa bans and disqualifications.<\/p>\n

Scores of people claiming to have been scammed have continued to come forward with some invading the offices of the companies seeking a refund.<\/p>\n

They were however denied access by hired bouncers placed at their offices.
The companies have sought police help to protect the offices.<\/p>\n

Kasyoki said the stories of the victims are touching as some had even sold land and livestock to raise the needed money for the travel mission that never materialized.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe families are suffering and that is why we are here to ensure justice for all. Let all affected come forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 27 \u2013 The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) says at least 263 travel agencies are under investigation for conning job seekers of more than Sh1 billion. A special team based at Nairobi Regional DCI is handling the cases so far involving 600 victims. According to Regional Criminal Investigations Officer Benson Kasyoki, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100467\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}