The national government has entered a deal to expose Kenyans hiding their wealth abroad.
This follows a deal struck by the government of Switzerland to expose billionaires who have reportedly amassed wealth in the country. Confirming the new pact, Switzerland stated that it is finalising a deal to automatically exchange secret financial information with Kenya.
Those targeted in the new deal are mainly billionaires who accumulated their wealth during the late former President Daniel Moi's era and were named in the Kroll Report.
In the new deal, Swiss monetary institutions will pass on details of accounts operated by Kenyan clients to the Swiss authorities who will then channel this information to Kenyan authorities.
"With the introduction of the automatic exchange of information with emerging market and developing economies, Switzerland is committed to international standards to combat financial crime, tax evasion, money laundering, and corruption," read a statement from Swiss officials.
The deal is expected to expose the secret haul of hidden wealth by powerful individuals who held plum positions during the Moi-era.
Efforts to repatriate the proceeds stashed abroad gained traction after retired President Mwai Kibaki hired Kroll Associates back in 2003. His main target was business people and top government officials in the KANU regime.
However, since acquiring the services of the international firm, the findings have never been made public despite the whistleblower site, WikiLeaks, revealing some of those implicated in the run-up to the 2007 General Election.
"The consultation will last until 18 March 2022. The (Swiss) Federal Council plans to submit the dispatch on the introduction of the AEOI with (Kenya) to (Swiss) Parliament in autumn/winter 2022," they stated.
This comes months after the release of the Pandora Papers, the biggest leak of financial papers in history, containing 12 million files and obtained by the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
The papers linked the Kenyatta family to offshore accounts and companies valued at over Ksh3.3 billion. It further detailed that the first family has amassed wealth offshore and in the tax havens of Panama and the British Virgin Islands.
However, President Uhuru Kenyatta came out to defend his family over the offshore account saga promising to give a more detailed response, which to date he has never issued.
"These reports will go a long way in enhancing the financial transparency and openness that we require in Kenya and around the globe. The movement of illicit funds, proceeds of crime, and graft thrive in an environment of secrecy and darkness," stated the President.
He noted that he was personally not mentioned in the financial leaks clearing his name during a United Nations forum.
“As I said before, my name first and foremost is not there,” Uhuru stated.
He added, “There has been no mention of any wrongdoing on my part."
