United Nations Ranks Kenya at Position 24 in the Dirty Money Business

Every year, the United Nations conducts surveys on how the countries are performing. One of the UN departments, UNCTAD, issues reports on trade and development reports of all the member states. This year, it has ranked countries involved in the dirty money business. The  Economic Development in Africa Report 2020 also mentions that Kenya is among the top 25 countries with money laundering cases. 

The UNCTAD Secretary-General, Mukhisa Kituyi presented the report at the end of September 2020. Now, Kenya is ahead of Angola, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Mauritius, and South Africa. 

By dirty money, the report refers to tax evasions, money laundering, corporate and revenue offences, tariff, duty, and some other practices. In returned stolen assets, Kenya has recorded an amount worth Ksh 17 billion, which is the second-largest number reported.  

https://t.co/71NXEpPO4K: Kenya Ranked Highly in ‘Dirty’ Money Business – UN Report.https://t.co/fZqr6FASUB

— Manu Bugoye (@ebugoye) October 6, 2020

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in December 2018 on the international cooperation for combating money laundering and other financial crimes. It also encouraged good practices on asset return for fostering sustainable development. However, Kenya is losing billions every year as individuals, officials, and corporations conceal illegally earned money in secretive international banks. 

The UNCTAD referred to another report and indicated that Kenya has lost more than Ksh 40 billion since 2011 in illegal financial flows since officials avoid tax payment through illegal activities. It is now one of the worst offenders in Africa’s non-resource endowed countries. 

Know more about AML/CFT compliance: CFT & AML Compliance To Hold Back Financial Crimes