Court halts extradition of three Kenyans to US over fraud case
The extradition of three Kenyans to the United States of America (USA) to face prosecution over a multi-million-dollar fraud has been temporarily halted by the High Court pending the outcome of an appeal.
Justice Alexander Muteti suspended an order requiring Peter Omari, Francis Asanyo and Elvis Obaigwa to be handed over to US authorities to face trial over alleged tax fraud.
Peter Omari, Francis Asanyo and Elvis Obaigwa face extradition to the US.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation
The judge directed lawyers representing the suspects Ishmael Nyaribo and Cliff Oduk to file their submissions within seven days challenging the extradition of the three Kenyans.
Mr Oduk argued that Kenya has no extradition treaty with the US and that the three should not be surrendered to the foreign country.
At the same time, Mr Nyaribo informed the judge that he would urge the court to release the three on bond pending the outcome of the appeal.
Mr Nyaribo urged the judge to take judicial notice that the trio’s bonds had been cancelled and that they had been ordered to remain in custody pending extradition.
He argued that the three were not flight risks, noting that “they had been out on bond until August 6, 2026, when Senior Principal Magistrate Paul Mutai allowed the USA to have the three released to its security agents to be airlifted to face justice in the Western democracy.”
The Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Mr Mutai cancelled the Sh5 million bonds granted to the fugitives and directed that they be remanded at Kileleshwa Police Station pending further proceedings.
However, Mr Oduk urged the magistrate to stay the extradition order pending an appeal. The magistrate declined, saying the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had established a case against each of the three based on evidence transmitted from the US to Kenyan authorities.
“I urge this court to stay the extradition direction pending the outcome of the intended appeal at the High Court,” Mr Oduk told the magistrate.
The magistrate granted the defence lawyers 14 days to appeal against his ruling enforcing an international warrant of arrest.
On March 2, 2026, Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga filed an application seeking to enforce an international warrant of arrest issued by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division.
The warrant was dated November 15, 2023.
Computer intrusions
The trio is wanted in the US to face charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and aiding and abetting crime.
Kenyans wanted by US over multiple fraud cases, Elvis Obaigwa (left), Francis Asanyo and Peter Omari at the Milimani Law Courts on February 16, 2026.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation Media Grou
The DPP received a request to hand over the three Kenyans to the US government on February 25, 2026, through the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
The Attorney General had earlier received communication through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the US seeking the extradition of the three.
In urging the court to grant the US request, the DPP told the trial court that Kenya and the US share a common commitment to fighting crime and economic-related offences.
In his objection, Mr Oduk said Kenya and the US did not have an extradition treaty, arguing that the one that existed had been severed almost a century ago, in 1931.
“For the last 95 years, there has been no extradition treaty between Kenya and the US and therefore this court cannot give away our sons to a foreign country,” Mr Oduk submitted.
But the DPP, through prosecuting counsel Virginia Kariuki, said Kenya had signed and ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) in 2004.
Ms Kariuki told the court that under UNTOC, money laundering is an “extraditable offence”.
In his ruling, the magistrate observed that “by dint of Article 2(5) and (6) of the Constitution of Kenya, the general rules of international law shall form part of the Law of Kenya and any treaty or convention ratified by Kenya shall form part of the Law of Kenya.”
Dismissing the objection by the three extraditees, Mr Mutai stated: “It is clear that the state opted to pursue the extradition process using a convention signed by both states (Kenya/US).”
The magistrate further noted that both Kenya and the US are parties to UNTOC and that there was a proper basis for the extradition.
Mr Mutai ruled: “I am satisfied that a case has been made out by the DPP against the three respondents to warrant extradition. The offence allegedly committed is extraditable. As a consequence, the application dated March 2, 2026, is hereby allowed.”
Sealing their fate, the magistrate ordered that the respondents be returned from Kenya and surrendered to the US to stand trial for the offences outlined in the extradition request.
The three had flown into Kenya, where US crime investigators had been trailing them.
They were arrested in their rural homes in Kisii County.
In his application, the DPP disclosed that the suspects had allegedly fled the US but were arrested through a joint effort involving the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Interpol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The magistrate further heard that during their incarceration, US law enforcement agencies would avail the formal extradition request through diplomatic channels.
“DCI received information from the FBI in Richmond, Virginia, within the USA, that the three suspects, plus other conspirators at large, were involved in orchestrating and conducting Business Email Compromise (BEC) and Vendor Account Compromise (VAC),” a crime detective stated in evidence presented to the court.
The Serious Crimes Unit officer stated that the fraudulent schemes were aimed at exploiting online Vendor Self Service (VSS) platforms set up by US state and local government entities to manage financial transactions from April 2019.
The trial magistrate heard that the suspects, in cahoots with other co-conspirators, registered internet domain names that were deceptively similar to those of legitimate companies holding contracts with the targeted organisations.
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