State To Keep Sh238M Cash Seized From Ruto Ally At JKIA

The High Court had ordered the freezing of Sh238 million in US dollars seized by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) custom officials at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) last week.

High Court judge Esther Maina ordered the money be frozen for 90 days, following an application by Assets Recovery Agency (ARA).

Documents filed in court show that export entry had been lodged from Kenya to UK with the sender for the  $2 million indicated as Brinks Kenya ltd while the recipient was indicated as Brinks Global Services UK.

ARA said the money originated from Bujumbura, Burundi and destined for Kenya but was intercepted as the traveler tried to ship it to London, without being declared.

The agency says the deliberate failure of failing to declare the funds, and attempting to reship it to the UK through the cargo point, depicts money scheme conducted to conceal the beneficiaries, origin and source.

The traveller, identified as Andrew Kipkemboi, was on Thursday intercepted at JKIA with the parcel containing the money. Kemboi is said to be an associate of DP Ruto and a politician eyeing the Chesumei constituency seat in Nandi County on a UDA ticket, he was arrested by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Customs officers based at the airport after he landed in the country from Bujumbura, Burundi.

According to the police, Kemboi had a hard time explaining what he does for a living to make the huge sum of cash he was arrested with.

At some point when pressured, he waffled around saying he is a large-scale maize trader based in Burundi and later changed tune, claiming that he had won a lottery what forced the customs officials to confiscate the cash before handing him over to the Anti-Terror Police Unit.

KRA officials said the money was packed as a parcel and the suspect had made a wrongful declaration on the intended destination, before it was flagged as a possible money laundering transaction.

Documents in his possession indicated the parcel had been sent from Banque de Credit de Bujumbura (BCB) to a recipient identified as Brinks Global Services, Kenya.

After clearance by the Customs Unit at the airport, Kemboi presented the money at the Swissport cargo shed with different export documents for shipment to Global Services, UK.

“The documents produced to support the export request were different from those produced on entry into the country,” KRA said.

It is now believed that part of the cash was meant to fund political party related activities around the country.

Kemboi is said to have left the country on Wednesday for Somalia before flying to Uganda and later to Bujumbura and then jetted back to Nairobi on the same day evening with the money.

The money is said to have been wired from Dubai and was supposed to be collected in Kigali, Rwanda, however, the Rwandan intelligence community got wind and the events led to President Paul Kagame visiting Nairobi to brief President Uhuru Kenyatta.

A former Cabinet Secretary facing charges in court is said to have been the contact person with Kemboi and he is expected to shed more light on the stash.

With the seizure of the Sh238 million from the Kenyan, the ARA will have in its accounts a total of Sh448 million, seized from the two foreigners and the Kenyan.

Section 12 (1) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act requires a person to declare any amount above $10,000 (about over Sh1 million) at the port of entry.

The US government has in the past put Kenya on the list of global hotspots for money laundering, citing insufficient controls on the circulation of dirty cash and the lack of laws against terrorism financing.

A report published in 2019 by the United States Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said money laundering in Kenya occurred in the formal and informal sectors, fuelled by domestic and foreign criminal operations.