President William Ruto has pledged additional budgetary allocation to the investigating and prosecution agencies to fight money laundering.
Speaking during the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Prosecuting Agencies Conference in Mombasa on Thursday, Ruto admitted that Kenya, just like any other nation, is faced with challenges in handling money laundering and other organised crimes.
''The government of Kenya remains committed to ensuring the rule of law and advancing a human-centred approach to prosecution and pursuit of justice. This conference has offered us an opportunity to respond to the emerging threats facing our country,'' Ruto stated.
''I look forward to your recommendations and assure you that the government of Kenya will support full empowerment and funding of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for their implementation effectively,'' he assured.
The Head of State further assured that Kenya was fully focused on revamping its anti-money laundering and asset forfeiture framework.
''Importantly, the revamping of our anti-money laundering and asset forfeiture framework is a testament to our commitment. It reflects our pursuit of greater specialisation, stronger institutions, and high-quality investigations,'' Ruto added.
The developments come a day after the European Commission placed Kenya in its updated list of high-risk jurisdictions presenting strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes.
The Commission said in a statement on Tuesday that it had added a number of third-country jurisdictions to its list, including Algeria, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela.
The report means that Kenya and the affected countries have now entered the blacklist of the list of countries subject to extra monitoring of their money laundering controls.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a Paris-based organisation that reviews efforts by more than 200 countries and jurisdictions to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing, compiles a "grey list" of nations that are subject to increased monitoring of financial transactions.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s Financial Reporting Centre has intensified the monitoring of suspicious financial transactions. The FRC has also expanded its scope of work with reporting institutions, especially banks, insurance firms, SACCOs, and forex bureaus, through real-time transaction monitoring and enhanced due diligence protocols.
Additionally, on Tuesday, the Director Investigations Bureau at DCI Headquarters, Abdalla Komesha, reaffirmed the detectives' commitment to investigating money laundering, terrorism financing, and major predicate offences, including organised crime.
