Three months after losing her bid for Nairobi’s governorship, a well-known Kenyan businesswoman entered into a major petroleum deal with a German investor, Uwe Heinz Odenthal.
The deal, which initially appeared lucrative, has now turned into a financial nightmare for Odenthal, who claims that he was defrauded of €1 million (Sh142 million).
According to Odenthal, he had invested the amount in Trojan Six Oil 2019 Ltd., expecting substantial returns.
The promised dividends were to be an impressive 30% of his capital, equivalent to €300,000 (Sh42 million) annually.
However, these returns never materialized, and the investor now alleges he has been left in a precarious financial situation.
The investment agreement dates back to November 2022, when Odenthal was introduced to the petroleum opportunity through a mutual friend, Jurgen Haese, who also lives in Germany.
Haese had initially boasted of making his own substantial investment of €2.5 million (Sh356.3 million) into the business, highlighting the potential profitability of the venture in Kenya’s growing oil sector.
Both men, married to Kenyan women, had close ties to the country, and Haese’s wife, Rose Kirimi, was reportedly a close friend of the businesswoman behind the petroleum deal.
Odenthal, after being reassured by Haese’s investment success, cautiously decided to commit €500,000 to the deal.
He was encouraged to invest independently by Haese, who insisted that the petroleum business was a golden opportunity.
As part of his due diligence, Odenthal traveled to Kenya in December 2022 to meet with the directors of Trojan Six Oil and assess the viability of the deal.
The businesswoman in question initially reached out to Odenthal in November, and their discussions seemed promising.
Trojan Six Oil was presented as a legitimate and thriving business that would provide him with monthly dividends directly into his German bank account.
Confident in the venture, Odenthal planned to invest a further €3 million (Sh427 million) but held off after sensing complications.
Since the initial investment, the promised profits have not been forthcoming.
Odenthal has been left struggling to repay a €500,000 (Sh71.3 million) loan he had taken from a German bank to fund the deal.
His monthly repayments of €4,500 (Sh641,500) have become a burden, especially as he has yet to see any returns from the petroleum business.
Repeated attempts to contact the businesswoman and other directors have failed.
Odenthal’s calls and messages to her have gone unanswered, leading him to believe that the deal was fraudulent from the start.
He has now taken the matter to Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), where he filed a formal complaint, describing his ordeal as one of being “cheated, stolen from, and defrauded.”
This is not the first time the businesswoman has been linked to questionable dealings.
She has previously been involved in a controversial land transaction in Nairobi, where accusations of fraud and land-grabbing were made against her.
In that case, she was alleged to have acquired a prime piece of land under dubious circumstances, further fueling concerns about her business ethics.
It raises broader issues about the safety of foreign investments in Kenya, especially in industries like petroleum, where regulatory oversight may be lacking.
Odenthal’s experience also serves as a cautionary tale for international investors who may be enticed by the allure of high returns in emerging markets but face significant risks if deals are not transparent.
At the time of writing, the businesswoman has not issued any public statements addressing the allegations, and the investigation by the DCI remains ongoing.
The outcome of this case will likely have implications for both her reputation and Kenya’s investment climate.
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