Editor's Review

  • A report before the US Congress indicated that Kenya remains vulnerable to money laundering.

A report on the International Narcotics Control Strategy tabled before the US congress, indicated that Kenya remains vulnerable to money laundering in formal and informal sectors.

In the report presented before the US Congress, Kenya was ranked among Morrocco, Nigeria, Ghana and Benin as African countries notorious for money laundering, terror financing and financial fraud are rife.

“Despite progress, Kenya needs to strengthen the implementation of good governance and anti-corruption measures and improve its AML/CFT regime.

Criminal Organizations

"Bureaucratic, logistical, and capacity impediments may hinder the investigation and prosecution of financial crimes” the report said.

Kenya's diaspora remittances to the country totalled 1.78B USD (Sh178 billion) between January and August 2020 some of which is suspected to have been proceeds of the narcotics trade.

“Criminals not only continued to perpetrate traditional financial crimes but devised new ways to exploit the pandemic through counterfeiting essential goods and telephone and email scams promoting health or medical products,” the report stated.