The racist who 'squeezed money' from the 'natives,' case of deported Mikhail Lyapin

Deported Russian Mikhail Lyapin was a through-bred racist with an uncanny ability to use his knowledge and skills in information technology to manipulate Kenyans and make money out of a country he held in low regard, The Standard can today reveal.

His messages pieced together from his own posts on the Telegram social networking app and stories published about him in his native Russia, show a man holding an eternal sneer at Kenyans despite seeing business opportunities in the country “that speaks English well with 90 per cent of internet spread”

He arrived in Kenya in 2016 and launched a mobile loan app in 2017 which he named Afrikaloan and for eight years the man ‘squeezed money from the natives’ and had the confidence to tell this story in his racist tone to the Russian press even as he posted in his native language in social media.

In an interview with Forbes Russia he spoke of “childish employees” in Kenya whose labour is readily available and cheap. He considered them "childish because they needed reminding daily, could not keep time to meetings, were fearful and would not ask even if they didn't understand". He spoke of how he was told by his colleagues that it was in-fact possible for any white-man to meet the president and offer him a bribe of $400 (Sh51,600).

"These people are often unreliable and childish". Lyapin is quoted by Forbes Russia in a 2017 interview "Their unreliability manifests itself in the fact that you could agree on a specific time, but they'll do it much later. And their childishness manifests itself in the fact that they always expect something from you, like children from their father."

It now appears that Lyapin’s plan of striking a meeting with an African president and throwing at him a bribe hit a dead end after he was deported on Thursday in the heat of human trafficking claims by Kenyan authorities.

The Russian embassy in Nairobi quickly disassociated its citizen with claims of dealing in human trafficking saying it had no official information from the Kenyan authorities regarding any claims against Lyapin or his activities. 

“Contrary to the reports of a number of media outlets, Mr Lyapin has never been an employee of Russian governmental bodies and does not work at the Russian Embassy in Nairobi” Said the Embassy in a short note send to media.

Seeking to correct the impression that Lyapin had served at the Embassy and was deported for wrongdoing the Embassy claimed that after being interrogated on Thursday September 25 at the Directorate of Criminal Investigation in Nairobi, Lyapin, in accordance with his previous plans, left Kenya

“Diplomats of the Russian Embassy in Nairobi provided the necessary consular and legal assistance to the Russian citizen, and also made sure that his legal rights were not violated” Said the statement. 

It is not clear whether Lyapin netted unsuspecting Kenyans into Russia’s Special Economic Zone through online manipulations with promises for training and job opportunities. The Standard has reported an ongoing syndicate that has run on this false promises ensnaring young women from Kenya and other African countries who have ended up laboring in war factories in the Tatarstan Republic producing drones that are used in its war against Ukraine 

What is clear is that Kenyan authorities found him a person of interest in the ongoing human trafficking phenomenon. Last week, in an intelligence-led operation, detectives from the DCI’s Transnational Organised Crime Unit, backed by other security agencies, raided Great Wall Apartments in Athi River where 21 Kenyans were found being processed for travel to Russia.

Our sister publication The Saturday Standard established that Lyapin, was arrested in connection with a syndicate, and was due for deportation.

Lyapin was arrested on Thursday evening and booked at Muthaiga Police Station cells. Sources familiar with his arrest said: “the guy is in the process of being deported.”

It emerged, however, that Lyapin left the JKIA at 14.13 hours via Air Arabia, Airbus A320, destined for Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), before taking the next flight to Russia.

Liyapin is allegedly linked to an recruitment racket in the country and could have been assisted to leave the country after security agencies zeroed in on him. Authorities in Kenya have remained tight lipped about the matter. Questions send to the media relations office of Foreign CS Musalia Mudavadi and Labour CS Alfred Mutua were yet to be responded to by the time of going to press.

In a story run by a Russian online publication Pro Business that was titled We already know how to squeeze money out of the native: a Russian went to Kenya to issue microloans Lyapin admitted to choosing a less developed country to make money through his type of investment which thrives amongst populations that were not as exposed. He said staying ahead meant being willing to work where no one else wanted to. "So, we decided to expand into countries that are at the same level of development as Russia 15 years ago or more ago".

In an interview with Forbes Russia Lyapin emerged as an individual who despised the people he employed in Nairobi. Soon after he launched AfrikaLoan in Nairobi and quickly started minting profits in millions he said “AfrikaLoan team consists of 24 people, four of whom are single mothers over 30. They've been with the company for a period of 1.5 years, an unheard-of period in Africa.”

The average salary in a call center is $160 per month (Sh20 600), with managers earning up to $800 (Sh103 000) if they meet performance targets. The total call center payroll is approximately $5,000, (Sh645,000) of which almost 15 per cent goes to taxes.

He said managing African employees is particularly challenging because personal contact is crucial. “While there's a schedule, it won't be implemented if you don't communicate with the employee or partner every day. To keep the work moving, each employee needs to be reminded of their tasks daily—the more often, the better.”

He said employees and management behave modestly and were afraid to ask questions, even if they don't understand something. And they'll never write anything in the general work WhatsApp chat, believing that's a privilege reserved for a select few. 

In his mobile loan app Lyapin seemed to expand rapidly and attributed his rapid growth to the incredible sociability of Kenyans. “People are very social and friendly” He told Forbes “Everyone maintains connections with at least 30-40 relatives and countless friends. Therefore, network marketing (MLM), promo codes for discounts for friends, and other referral programs are effective for promoting products and services.” 

For Lyapin it is not possible for him to speak about non-Russians without a racist slant. On his telegram app he posted that there are two types of managers that can be hired in Kenya. And many places in sub-Saharan Africa.

“The first type is white who are hired in two situations,” He wrote, “When the founder is tired of putting out fires and wants to "get the car going. When the company has already built up some muscle and is ready to take a risk.”

The rant ran that the problem is that a white man is always an investment in a black box. “One day he's building processes, the next his wife whispers to him that she has nothing to do in Nairobi and it's time to go home. And if it's not his wife, then it's a visa, children, an emotional crisis. The cost is between $5,000 and $12,000 per month. Multiply that by 12 months, and he's no longer a person, he's a Land Cruiser.”

“The second type is the black one” Wrote Lyapin “It's a different story with him. The price is two to three times lower, and his access to the local network is much better”.
He said that a black man or woman knows who to talk to, who to sell to, and who not to buy from. That he has a better sense of context—political, everyday, and corruption-related.
“But it's like buying a mango at the market—there's no guarantee it won't be rotten. You often come across people who start out looking good, but then start pulling off a scam: collusion with suppliers, kickbacks, bizarre expenses, and disappearing documents.”

If you find a black market manager who's not stupid, not greedy, and doesn't play his own game, stick with him. He's rare.”