Posta staff working jointly with KRA customs officers based at City Square Post Office recovered the money in a suitcase
containing clothes and books sent to a Nigerian national.
Mr Peter Oluwafemi Olaiwon was arrested upon presenting himself to collect the parcel which was sent by Ms Linda C Dye, a resident of South Carolina USA.
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Posta Kenya officials have recovered $28,000 (Sh3.1 million) concealed in a jacket shipped into Kenya as a parcel from South Carolina state, USA.
Posta staff working jointly with KRA customs officers based at City Square Post Office recovered the money in a suitcase containing clothes and books sent to a Nigerian national.
Mr Peter Oluwafemi Olaiwon was arrested upon presenting himself to collect the parcel which was sent by Ms Linda C Dye, a resident of South Carolina USA.
"Mr Olaiwon was arraigned in court on November 8, 2021 and charged with financial promotion of an offence contrary to section 7 of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act and Conveyance of Monetary Instruments to Kenya, contrary to section 12 of The Proceeds Of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act," KRA said in a statement.
The suspect pleaded not guilty to both charges and was released on a cash bail of Sh150,000 and a personal bond of Sh200,000.
Section 12 (1) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act requires a person to declare any amount above $10,000 (approximately over Sh1 million).
The law requires individuals travelling or sending parcels with a huge amount of money to declare and produce documents supporting the legitimacy of the cash in the fight against money laundering.
KRA and other agencies including the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) have stepped up surveillance to stop illicit money coming into the country.
Last year, Sh100 million in foreign currencies was seized from a Nigerian at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) while heading to Dubai.
Mr Mauzu Bala was arrested with the money-- in 880,000 US dollars, 60,000 euros and 63,000 Nigerian naira -- stacked in his handbag.
The United States government in the past has put Kenya on the list of global hotspots for money laundering, citing insufficient controls on the circulation of dirty cash and the lack of laws against terrorism financing.
A report published in 2019 by the United States Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said money laundering in Kenya occurs in the formal and informal sectors, fuelled by domestic and foreign criminal operations.
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