The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss, George Kinoti, launched a new plan to flush out corrupt officials and money launderers by focusing on their lawyers.
The state through the Finance Bill 2019, has tabled several amendments of section 48 of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Kinoti is aimed at having the legal mandate to compel lawyers to report to authorities whenever they handle cash or transact on behalf of their clients.
"Many economic thieves, plunderers and looters of public money exploited this attorney-client privilege avenue for a long time," Kinoti disclosed to the Standard.
Under the bill published on June 13, 2019, lawyers, notaries and other independent legal professions shall all be subjected to the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism rules.
Lawyers are currently protected from disclosing details of transactions or money held on behalf of their clients, which has been a popular avenue for corrupt individuals according to Kinoti.
"If money is from lawful sweat and toil, why invoke confidentiality when questioned? The country cannot bleed again out of a web of well-orchestrated undercover theft," the DCI boss asserted.
The Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) director, General Saitoti Maika, echoed Kinoti's sentiments, adding that the amendments were based on vulnerabilities identified in money laundering and terrorism financing risk assessment.
"It's imperative to note that law firms have previously been implicated in various corruption scandals and cases before court as having been used to hide stole public funds," Saitoti divulged.
The amendments are set to address open of accounts or investing on behalf of clients to ascertain that the lawyers are not conduits used in the handling of proceeds of crime.
He went on to hail the proposed amendments as the right move in the country's bid to root out corruption.
