JKIA Security: Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) custom officials have arrested a Kenyan who was trying to sneak in Sh. 238 million at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The Kenyan was traveling from Burundi and had the money in foreign currency, wrapped in a parcel. Custom officials made arrest after suspecting that the money was part of a money-laundering scheme because it had not been declared as required.
“The money has been held and the matter is under investigation,’’ KRA commissioner for Custom and Border Control Lilian Nyawanda said.
When the man arrived at the JKIA from Bujumbura, Burundi, he made a declaration of the currency indicating the origin as Banque de Credit de Bujumbura (BCB) to a recipient Brinks Global Services, Kenya. After getting clearance from the Customs Unit at the airport, he later presented the same money at the Swissport Cargo shed. This time, he had different export documents and wanted the money shipped to Global Services, UK. These documents were different from the ones he had presented for entry.
This was the latest in a number of cases of travelers who are being arrested carrying tens of millions of undeclared cash at the JKIA. In January 2022, a Bahraini national identified as Khalid Jameel Saeed, was intercepted at JKIA with $975,000 (Sh. 110,760,000) in cash. The foreigner was on transit to Bahrain through Egyptian Airlines. In December 2020, over Sh. 100 million was seized from a Nigerian at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport while heading to Dubai.
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In Kenya, 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 Sh. 1 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.