Court Orders Freezing of Sh238 Million in US Dollars Seized from a Kenyan at JKIA

The High Court has ordered the freezing of Sh238 million in US dollars seized from a Kenyan traveler at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) last week.

High Court judge Esther Maina on Tuesday granted an application by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) to freeze the money for 90 days pending the conclusion of investigations.

The traveler, Andrew Kipkemboi was intercepted at JKIA by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) custom officials with a parcel containing over USD$2 million.

ARA says the money originated from Burundi’s capital Bujumbura and was destined for Kenya, but the traveler was intercepted as he tried to ship it to London, the United Kingdom.

Court documents show that an export entry had been lodged from Kenya to the UK with the sender for the money indicated as Brinks Kenya Ltd and Brinks Global Services UK as the recipient.

The assets agency argues that failure to declare the funds, and attempting to reship it to the UK through the cargo point depicts a money-laundering scheme aimed at concealing the beneficiaries, origin, and source.

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