By Business Daily Africa
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) custom officials have arrested a Kenyan travelling from Burundi with Sh238 million in foreign currency at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). On Thursday, the traveller was intercepted at JKIA with a parcel containing $2 million. He was arrested on suspicion of being part of a money-laundering scheme after failing to declare the cash as required by law.
“The money has been held and the matter is under investigation,’’ KRA commissioner for Custom and Border Control Lilian Nyawanda said in a statement Thursday.
KRA says that when the passenger arrived at JKIA from Bujumbura, Burundi, and made a declaration of the currency indicating the origin as Banque de Credit de Bujumbura (BCB) to a recipient Brinks Global Services, Kenya.
After clearance by Customs Unit at the airport, the traveller 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 however different from those produced on entry into the country.
“After noting the inconsistencies in information provided by the passenger, KRA has invited Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) to assist in investigating the matter as a possible money-laundering attempt,” said Ms Nyawanda.
The arrest of the latest suspect at JKIA with Sh238 million from Bunjumbura, Burundi comes barely a few days after KRA arrested a foreigner at JKIA.
The foreigner, a Bahraini national identified as Khalid Jameel Saeed, was intercepted at JKIA with $975,000 (Sh110, 808,000) in cash.
The foreigner was on transit to Bahrain through Egyptian Airlines. Last year, Posta staff working jointly with KRA customs officers based at City Square Post Office recovered $28,000 (Sh3.1 million) concealed in a jacket shipped into Kenya as a parcel from South Carolina state, USA.
In another case last year, a Nigerian was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) while heading to Dubai with foreign currencies. Mr Mauzu Bala was arrested with the money– in 880,000 US dollars, 60,000 euros and 63,000 Nigerian naira — stacked in his handbag.
Section 12 (1) of the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act requires a person to declare any amount above $10,000 (approximately over Sh1 million).
The law requires individuals travelling or sending parcels with a huge amount of money to declare and produce documents supporting the legitimacy of the cash in the fight against money laundering.
The United States government in the past has 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 occurs in the formal and informal sectors, fuelled by domestic and foreign criminal operations.