Africa-Press – Kenya. Multi agency teams will now investigate the seizure of Sh102 million in foreign currency at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Officials said the teams led by the Assets Recovery Agency are investigating possible money laundering.
The team will also investigate if those caught with the money have been doing the business in the past by reviewing their travel history.
Officials aware of the issue said it was not the first time the six Kenyan women found with the cash were traveling to India and back.
“They are regular travelers and usually come with clothes and shoes. We suspect they are involved in gold business,” said one official aware.
The six women who had carried the Sh102 million and tried to smuggle it into the country were Thursday detained at JKIA.
The Kenya Revenue Authority customs officials while clearing Ethiopian Airline flight some six women arrived with luggage that had shoes and clothes.
“The images showed items that looked like currency. Upon secondary verification, it was confirmed that the luggage contained us currency amounting to 857,300 US dollars,” officials said.
The passengers were coming from India aboard Ethiopian airline.
The money was intercepted and deposited into the customs warehouse for further investigations.
KRA says passengers are supposed to declare all cargo/items at the Ports of entry and exit as required under the provisions of the Second and Third Schedules of the EAC Customs Management Act, 2000.
Section 12 (1) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act also requires a person to declare any amount above $10,000 (about over Sh1 million) at the port of entry.
In February this year the officials intercepted Sh238 Million in foreign currency from a traveler.
The suspect, of Kenyan nationality, had arrived in the country from Bujumbura, Burundi.
The money packed as a parcel containing $2 million was seized following a wrongful declaration on the intended destination.
KRA said upon arrival, the passenger made a declaration of the currency indicating the origin as Banque de Credit de Bujumbura (BCB) to a recipient Brinks Global Services, Kenya.
According to KRA, after clearance by Customs Unit at the airport, the traveler later presented the same 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 then. The money was held as investigations continue.
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 said 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 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, fueled by domestic and foreign criminal operations.
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