•This is obviously a national security concern as some of the money laundered ends up in financing terrorist activities and other crimes.
•The government must intensify efforts to crush criminal networks and seal loopholes in the financial system.
Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana last month riveted a Nairobi court with a stranger-than-fiction tale. He was allegedly conned of Sh76 million in a get-rich-quick scam.
The senator was introduced to Abdoulaye Tamba Kouro who pretended he would double the legislator’s money. He first gave out Sh500,000 and was over the moon when he was given back Sh1 million.
Next, he gave Sh5 million and got Sh10 million after six months. All transactions were in cash.
The third time Mungatana played this game, Kauro the great money-maker vanished into thin air.
"I believed him and I started looking for that money. I sold properties that were in my name. I sold shares that were in my name and my late wife's name, we had cars that had logbooks we went to the banks and, Your Honour, we took short-term loans,” the senator told the court.
“I had a home in Karen with seven rooms and at that time I was an MP it was the biggest investment I had made; it was Ksh.70 million and I took a mortgage," he said.
"I lost everything.”
‘Wash wash’ syndicates are real, vicious, and closing in on their next target right now. That’s the Wednesday top story of the Star newspaper under the headline, “Why ‘wash-wash’ threatens your job”.
The Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group warns in its latest report that if nothing is done to crush these networks, Kenyans may not be able to send and receive money from formal international financial networks.
It is not just individuals like Senator Mungatana losing their money. The government is also losing huge revenues through these scams.
Kenya could be placed on the watchlist of high-risk countries with widespread money laundering. That would certainly raise a red flag over the nation as a risky investment destination and scare away investors.
“Kenya is exposed to money laundering threats from proceeds of crime emanating from within and outside the country through its financial system, legal sector, real estate sector and cross-border trade,” the report states.
This is obviously a national security concern as some of the money laundered ends up in financing terrorist activities and other crimes.
The government must intensify efforts to crush criminal networks and seal loopholes in the financial system.
As a responsible citizen, you must do your part by reporting any suspicious activities and being wary of tantalizing get-rich-quick schemes, or you would end up in a huge financial disaster like Senator Mungatana.