The primary court of Kicukiro on Friday, January 20, granted bail to former Association of Microfinance Institutions Rwanda (AMIR) boss Aimable Nkuranga, but remanded Eugene Bagire, his alleged accomplice in illegal crypto-currency trade. The duo is accused of illegal operation of currency trade, fraud and money laundering - crimes that they allegedly committed between December 31, 2022, and January 2. ALSO READ: Former AMIR boss, co-accused plead not guilty to illegal crypto trade According to the prosecutors, hundreds of people lost money to Bagire and Nkuranga through a scheme that combined the use of crypto currency, banking, and mobile money technology. They both pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned before the court on Tuesday, and thus requested for bail so that the trial in substance goes on while they are out of custody. However, delivering the bail-ruling on Friday, the presiding judge said there are reasonable grounds to suspect Bagire of committing the crimes and thus resolved that he should be remanded, since all the people who lost money said they had dealt with him directly. On the other hand, Nkuranga was granted bail because the victims of the illegal crypto currency trade did not implicate him to have dealt with them directly. According to victims' testimonies, the duo sensitized people using their YouTube channel to invest money in Legacy Plus group and buy cryptocurrency with a promise that the investment would multiply. Prosecution says they so far have over 250 people who filed cases against the two, while about 600 are reported to be still in the process of filing. Victims told the prosecution that the money was transferred directly to the account of Bagire through mobile money.
