Four Kenyans are among 83 people who have been arrested by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) for allegedly running a global money laundering scheme.
In its first-of-its-kind operation targeting terrorism financing and the illegal activities supporting it, Interpol arrested 83 individuals across six African countries and identified 160 persons of interest.
The crackdown conducted between July and September this year was aimed at identifying and disrupting financial flows and schemes found to have connections to terrorism financing and its support networks.
Of the 83 arrests, 21 cases were for terrorism-related crimes, 28 were for financial fraud and money laundering, 16 were linked to cyber-enabled scams and a further 18 were related to the illicit use of virtual assets.
In the two months, a joint operation between INTERPOL and AFRIPOL across participating countries screened more than 15,000 persons of interest and entities, uncovering around Ksh33 billion ($260 million) in both fiat and virtual currencies.
A suspected money laundering scheme in Kenya that involved a virtual asset service provider was found to have possible ties to the funding of terrorism.
According to Interpol, in its report released on Wednesday, October 22, it unravelled a scheme worth approximately Ksh55 million involving 12 people, two of whom have so far been arrested.
In a separate case in Kenya, two individuals were arrested for the online recruitment of young people from East and North Africa into terrorist groups.
The report revealed that the funds used for the recruitment and radicalisation were traced through a cryptocurrency trading platform back to individuals in Tanzania.
"One notable transnational case involved a massive cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme, which claimed to be a legitimate online trading platform and affected at least 17 countries around the world, including Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria," Interpol revealed.
"The scheme accumulated more than 100,000 victims around the world, with an estimated loss to victims of Ksh72 billion ($562 million," the crime policing organisation added.
Additionally, in Nigeria, the operation led to the arrest of 11 suspected terrorists, including high-level members of several terrorist groups.
Illicit financial flows, including money laundering, have been a huge challenge in Africa, particularly Kenya, which is currently in the grey list over a lack of proper measures to take on the menace.
Kenya was formally added to the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force in February last year. However, despite implementing several stringent measures, the country has yet to be delisted.
Veteran Journalist & State House MC Sammy Lui Dies News Just In
