Suspected Kenyan Drug Trafficker Joyce Akinyi Ordered to Forfeit Two High-End Cars Worth Sh20 Million

Suspected Kenyan drug trafficker Joyce Akinyi has been ordered to forfeit two high-end vehicles worth Sh20 million to the government for being proceeds of crime acquired through drug trafficking.

High Court judge Esther Maina in a ruling said Akinyi failed to explain the source of her wealth, leading to the conclusion that she acquired the vehicles through the illegitimate trade in narcotic drugs.

“She has not tendered any evidence to prove that the vehicles were acquired through clean money other than the proceeds of the illicit drug trade. As a consequence, I am satisfied that the assets are proceeds of crime liable for forfeiture to the government,” ruled Maina.

The ruling followed a forfeiture application filed by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) which argued that the two luxury cars are proceeds of the drug business. The court heard that Akinyi, who was facing drug-related charges, used her accounts at Stanbic Bank as conduits for money laundering and drug trafficking. 

Investigations by ARA established that Akinyi’s role in the drug business was to identify purchasers for distribution and sale. She is alleged to have joined the drug business in 2000 alongside her former husband Anthony Chinedu, a Nigerian national who was deported from Kenya in 2013.

ARA said Akinyi used the proceeds to acquire a parcel of land in Nairobi and developed eight villas but later sold them or leased them to third parties in a bid to conceal the source. One of the units was sold at Sh43 million, the agency said.

She is said to have deposited over Sh60 million in two accounts in the same bank over a period of four years. The deposits were made in tranches below Sh1,000,000 to avoid scrutiny.

In her defense, Akinyi denied acquiring the properties through proceeds of drug trafficking, stating that the money was from her hotel business and that she had been acquitted of drug trafficking charges for lack of evidence.

But in her ruling, Justice Maina said the fact that she was acquitted in the criminal case does not mean she acquired the properties through clean money, adding that ARA proved that she was involved in narcotic drug trafficking with Chinedu before their divorce.

“Contrary to her assertions, the asset recovery agency does not have to prove that she had been convicted of the alleged crime of drug trafficking. The agency only needed to prove that she was engaged in criminal activities from which she acquired the assets,” ruled Maina.

The judge directed the National Transport and Safety Authority (ARA) to impound the two vehicles and hand them over to ARA for onward transfer to the state.