State to keep Sh238 million seized from a Kenyan at JKIA

The High Court had ordered the freezing of Sh238 million in US dollars seized by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) custom officials at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) last week.

High Court judge Esther Maina ordered the money be frozen for 90 days, following an application by Assets Recovery Agency (ARA).

Documents filed in court show that export entry had been lodged from Kenya to UK with the sender for the  $2 million indicated as Brinks Kenya ltd while the recipient was indicated as Brinks Global Services UK. 

ARA said the money originated from Bujumbura, Burundi and destined for Kenya but was intercepted as the traveler tried to ship it to London, without being declared.

The agency says the deliberate failure of failing to declare the funds, and attempting to reship it to the UK through the cargo point, depicts money scheme conducted to conceal the beneficiaries, origin and source.

The traveller, identified as Andrew Kipkemboi, was on Thursday intercepted at JKIA with the parcel containing the money.

With the seizure of the Sh238 million from the Kenyan, the ARA will have in its accounts a total of Sh448 million, seized from the two foreigners and the Kenyan.

Section 12 (1) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act requires a person to declare any amount above $10,000 (about over Sh1 million) at the port of entry.

The US government has in the past 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 occurred in the formal and informal sectors, fuelled by domestic and foreign criminal operations.