Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for online forex trader Davis Manzi and his wife, Sophie Akaliza, on charges including money laundering and fraud. The couple has been embroiled in legal battles since 2024, facing charges related to Billion Traders FX, a company founded by Manzi, which ran into trouble after failing to pay clients a total of $10million (approx. Rwf14 billion). ALSO READ: Forex fraud trial: Davis Manzi seeks release to repay billions to investors The substantive trial began on Wednesday, July 16, at Gasabo Intermediate Court, with Manzi, Akaliza, their lawyers, and the civil party all in attendance. Prosecutors accuse the 39-year-old businessman of defrauding hundreds of people of $10 million. They claim that he convinced many people to invest in his online business but failed to deliver the promised returns. Billion Traders FX launched its operations in 2020. At that time, according to prosecutors, the license that Manzi acquired from Rwanda Development Board (RDB) only allowed him to engage in regular foreign exchange activities, not online forex trading. With this, they claim, he carried out online forex trading illegally. Prosecutors accused Manzi of laundering money, claiming that he had a tendency of wiring the money away from his accounts in unclear ways, trying to hide it. However, the defence responded that all transactions were transparently sent to Manzi’s licensed trading partner based in Australia, and can be well traced. In addition, Manzi said his business troubles began in 2022 when Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) placed caveats on his bank accounts as part of an investigation. This, he said, crippled his operations and prevented him from paying clients. He emphasized that before the blocking of his accounts in November 2022, all clients had been paid. He also disputed the accusation that his wife was a co-owner of the company, insisting that she was merely an employee overseeing Rwandan operations starting in 2022, when the company began expanding internationally. Regarding the licensing accusations, Manzi argued that the RDB certificate he obtained allowed him to engage in broader forex-related activities, not just regular currency exchange. He noted that at the time, Rwanda had no specific regulations for online forex trading, but officials from the central bank allowed him to work. The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on September 19.
