The unfolding scandal over alleged human trafficking networks recruiting young Kenyans into Russia’s war has taken a new turn, with the Russian Embassy in Nairobi dismissing reports that one of its citizens was arrested and deported.
The embassy insisted that businessman Mikhail Lyapin was merely questioned by detectives before leaving the country on a scheduled trip, even as Kenyan authorities continue to link his name to an ongoing probe into illicit recruitment of young Kenyans for Russia’s military.
Instead, the mission insists the man was only questioned before leaving the country on a planned trip.
The revelations come amid growing evidence that both Russia and Ukraine have exploited vulnerable Africans through shadowy recruitment schemes, often disguising enlistment as lucrative jobs, scholarships, or even sports opportunities.
Business Insider Africa recently reported the case of Evans Kibet, a 36-year-old Kenyan athlete who said he was lured to Russia under the pretense of competing in track races.
Instead, he was forced into military service and is now a prisoner of war in Ukraine.
In a viral video, Kibet revealed that dozens of Africans had been tricked in similar ways, some killed on the battlefield, others left permanently disabled.
Separately, The Standard reported that Kenyan authorities raided the Great Wall Apartments in Athi River during an intelligence-led operation by the DCI’s Transnational Organised Crime Unit.
There, they found 21 Kenyans allegedly being processed for travel to Russia, a development that further spotlighted the scale of the trafficking networks.
Embassy distances Lyapin from trafficking claims
Amid the uproar, attention shifted to Mikhail Lyapin, a Russian businessman named in local media reports as a key suspect. On Saturday, however, the Russian Embassy in Nairobi rejected allegations that Lyapin had been arrested or deported.
“In the evening of September 25, 2025, Kenyan law enforcement officers escorted Mikhail Lyapin, a citizen of the Russian Federation, to one of Nairobi offices of the Department of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in order to question him about his business activities in the country.”
“Upon completing all necessary procedures, in the afternoon of September 26, Mr. Lyapin, in accordance with his previous plans, left Kenya,” the embassy said in a statement.
It stressed that Lyapin had no ties to Russian government institutions or the embassy, and that his legal rights were respected during questioning.
“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,” the statement added.
Nairobi-Moscow tensions linger amid unanswered questions
For now, Kenyan officials have remained silent on the matter, fueling speculation about the depth of the recruitment networks and whether state actors are indirectly involved.
Although details surrounding Lyapin’s arrest and deportation remain unclear, The Standard reports that Kenyan authorities considered him a person of interest in the ongoing human trafficking network.
As Kibet’s case and the Athi River raid suggest, the Russia-Ukraine war has opened a dangerous new front in Africa where poverty, unemployment, and desperation are being exploited by transnational cartels to feed the machinery of war.
