The High Court in Nairobi has ordered a Pan-African payment solutions firm to surrender more than Ksh62 million to the government over claims that the funds in two of its accounts are proceeds of crime.
Justice Francis Gikonyo in his ruling agreed with investigations which concluded the company's directors were guilty of engaging in money laundering.
While delivering the judgement, Justice Gikonyo directed the money be channeled to the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) and for the company in question to bear its own costs.
“That this Honorable court be pleased to issue an order that the above funds be transferred to the Assets Recovery Agency,” the court pronounced itself.
“That this court does make any other ancillary orders it considers appropriate to facilitate the transfer of the property forfeited to the Government,’ the court further ruled.
In October 2023, the High Court in Nairobi issued an order allowing the government to freeze the company’s bank accounts over alleged engaging in illicit financial activities.
The Assets Recovery Agency was directed to freeze the company’s assets for ninety days to give room for investigations. ARA in its submissions told the court that it had commenced investigations into the firm arguing it illegitimately acquired the funds.
"My investigations established that the major deposits were made from suspicious sources and subsequently spent in suspicious activities by the firm's agents," the investigating officer told the court.
The court subsequently prohibited the respondents or its agents from transacting, withdrawing or transferring the funds in the two flagged bank accounts.
The court's ruling comes months after Kenya was grey listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), for failing to rein in illicit financial flows into the country.
A grey list outlines countries under increased monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force over weaknesses in failing to enforce anti-money laundering regulations.
"This underscores the imperative for swift and comprehensive action to bolster our compliance efforts. It is important to note that Kenya underwent an assessment conducted by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) in 2022. The evaluation revealed a mixed picture," Njuguna Ndung'u, the former Treasury Cabinet Secretary stated at the time.
