The Treasury has activated a fund that will manage seized criminal assets as the government steps up its purge on money laundering and criminal networks.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u formally published the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering (Criminal Assets Recovery Fund) Regulations, activating the fund and paving the way for the establishment of an asset recovery advisory board and the appointment of a director to serve as the administrator of the fund.
The asset recovery advisory board is expected to primarily advise the agency on the administration and management of the fund, while the director shall supervise and control the day-to-day administration of the fund, including opening and operating the fund’s bank accounts.
“The purpose of these regulations is to provide a framework for the administrative operations of the fund and the utilisation of properties and monies standing to the credit of the fund,” said the Treasury in a gazette notice covering the new regulations.
The criminal assets recovery fund was established under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act and holds all monies derived from concluded confiscation and forfeiture orders and properties recovered from such orders.
Other sources of monies for the fund include balances of all monies from the conclusion of foreign confiscation orders after payments made to requesting countries, appropriations by Parliament, domestic and foreign grants, and money or property recovered under the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act.
The new regulations set out additional sources of monies for the fund, including monies from incidental compensation and restitution orders, income generated from investments of the fund, and money accruing to the fund from the management of confiscated or forfeited property.
However, the fund is expected to pay out monies derived from concluded confiscation and forfeiture orders to the government’s consolidated fund and five percent of the total proceeds recovered or realised from any property seized or forfeited to the government, to the asset recovery agents.
The fund shall also pay out three percent of the total proceeds recovered or realised from any property seized or forfeited to the government to the Finance Reporting Centre.
Other payments out of the fund include claims by a third party concerning a forfeiture order and administrative expenses.
The Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act provides for the offence of money laundering and introduces measures for combating the offence, providing identification, tracing, freezing, seizure, and confiscation of the proceeds of crime and connected purposes.
The Act defines proceeds of crime as property or economic advantage derived or realised directly or indirectly, as a result, or in connection with an offence.
