Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act

This Act may be cited as the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Section 2 provides definitions and interpretive provisions used throughout the Act (it defines terms such as "account", "affected gift", "Agency", "authorised officer", "financial institution", "monetary instruments", "proceeds of crime", "person", and many others).

The Act applies to matters relating to combating money laundering, combating terrorism financing, and combating financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

A person who wilfully gives false information to the Financial Reporting Centre or an authorised officer commits an offence.

Reporting institutions must not fail to comply with the requirements of sections 44, 45 and 46 or regulations; failing to do so is an offence. Courts must consider all circumstances and may take account of relevant guidance.

Persons intending to carry monetary instruments above the prescribed amount into or out of Kenya must report the conveyance before doing so; authorised receivers must forward reports to the Financial Reporting Centre; wilful failure or material misrepresentation is an offence; authorised officers may temporarily seize suspected instruments (up to five days) and must surrender seized instruments to the Agency Director within five days.

Information collected on natural persons under this section must be dealt with according to the principles set out in the Data Protection Act, 2019.

A person (any natural or legal person) who intentionally refuses or fails to comply with a court order made under this Act commits an offence.

It is a criminal offence for any natural or legal person to hinder a receiver, police officer, or other person in performing powers, functions or duties under this Act.

Section 16 sets out penalties for offences under this Part, including imprisonment and fines for natural persons and fines for bodies corporate, and provides for prosecution of corporate officers where offences are committed with their consent or connivance.

This section makes the Act override secrecy obligations and says there will be no liability for disclosures made to comply with the Act.

Advocate–client privileged communications are protected for professional advice and legal proceedings; a High Court Judge may order an advocate to disclose related information during an investigation, but an advocate need not comply to the extent disclosure would breach the privilege.

Certain reporting institutions, government entities, their officers and other persons are immune from suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings for acts done with due diligence and in good faith under this Act.

Information relating to an offence and the identity of the informer received by the Financial Reporting Centre or an authorised officer must be kept confidential, subject to specified exceptions for assisting the Centre or for purposes of the Act and where a court considers disclosure necessary for justice.

Section 3 concerns money laundering and refers to entering into any agreement, arrangement or transaction with anyone in connection with property described as "all monetary instruments and all other real or personal property of every description..."

Addresses acquisition, possession or use of proceeds of crime.

A person ("any natural or legal person;") who wilfully fails to comply with an obligation contemplated in section 44 (2) commits an offence.

A person charged with an offence under sections 3, 4 or 5 may raise as a defence that they reported a suspicion under section 44, or if an employee of a reporting institution, that they reported information under section 47(a).

A person who knowingly moves or attempts to move money or anything of value to another, with intent to commit an offence, commits an offence.

It is an offence for any natural or legal person who knows (or ought reasonably to have known) that a suspicious-activity report under section 44 is being prepared, sent or about to be sent to the Centre, to disclose information relating to that report; certain defences and exemptions apply.

A person who knowingly makes or provides false statements or documents to a reporting institution, a supervisory body, or the Financial Reporting Centre commits an offence.

Establishment of a Financial Reporting Centre; section heading includes 'suing and being sued'.

The headquarters of the Financial Reporting Centre shall be in Nairobi.

Section 23 states that the Financial Reporting Centre's principal objective is to assist in identifying proceeds of crime and to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing; it also sets objectives to make collected information available to relevant bodies, to exchange information with similar foreign bodies, and to ensure compliance with international anti-money-laundering and counter‑financing standards.

Section title: "Functions and powers of the Centre" and text referring to all reports made pursuant to section 12.

The Centre may issue instructions, directions, guidelines or rules to reporting institutions and may delegate those powers to supervisory bodies; supervisory bodies must consult the Centre before issuing such rules; reporting institutions must provide information or documents specified in notices, cease conduct contrary to the Act, and take actions to remedy non-compliance; the Centre or supervisory bodies may examine and copy submitted documents.

The Financial Reporting Centre may impose monetary penalties: up to 5,000,000 shillings for a natural person, up to 25,000,000 shillings for a corporate body; continued failure attracts 10,000 shillings per day for up to 180 days; the Centre must give at least 14 days' written notice before imposing a penalty; penalties are payable to and recoverable by the Centre.

The Financial Reporting Centre must give a written notice of not less than fourteen days requiring the person or reporting institution to show cause before taking administrative action under this section.

Section 25 establishes a Director-General of the Financial Reporting Centre and sets appointment, qualification, term and appointment-process requirements.

The Director-General may resign by delivering a written resignation addressed to the Cabinet Secretary; the resignation becomes effective when received by the Cabinet Secretary or by a person authorized by the Cabinet Secretary.

The Cabinet Secretary may suspend the Director-General from office, in consultation with the Board, pending an inquiry into misconduct, incapacity or incompetence.

The Director-General shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Centre and is responsible for its direction, management and specified administrative duties; performance of the office is subject to a policy framework that the Cabinet Secretary may prescribe on the advice of the Board.

The Director-General may, in writing, delegate any of his powers and duties under the Act to other officers of the Financial Reporting Centre and may vary or cancel such delegations at any time.

Section 30 has been repealed.

The Cabinet Secretary may approve the Centre's general terms and conditions of service; the Centre must determine its own staff establishment and may appoint officers; the Centre may engage any person by agreement to perform specific acts or functions.

Before beginning duties under the Act, persons must take and subscribe the oath of confidentiality before a Magistrate or Commissioner for Oaths as prescribed in the Third Schedule.

When an inspection under section 24(c) is made, the reporting institution and its officers and employees must produce and make available specified books, accounts and information within seven days or a longer written time directed by the inspector; failure to comply is an offence. The inspector must make copies of required documents and submit a report to the Director-General noting breaches and matters warranting remedial or further action. Information obtained is to be treated as confidential and used solely for the purposes of the Act.

The Director-General may, by written notice and after giving a reporting institution a reasonable opportunity to be heard, require that reporting institution to comply with directions arising from a report under section 33, by a specified date or within a specified period.

Persons must assist inspectors, appear when required and produce relevant books or documents; persons must not refuse, obstruct, or provide false or misleading information; penalties include up to three years' imprisonment or fines up to one million shillings for individuals and up to five million shillings for bodies corporate.

Supervisory bodies and self-regulatory bodies and their staff must report any suspicious transaction encountered in the normal course of duties to the Financial Reporting Centre; employees who intentionally fail to report commit an offence with penalties including imprisonment or fines.

The Financial Reporting Centre has powers to regulate and supervise reporting institutions; supervisory bodies and self-regulatory bodies must supervise and enforce compliance with the Act, apply their powers to combat money‑laundering, submit reports to the Centre as prescribed, and may use authorised fees to defray related costs.

Supervisory bodies may cooperate and coordinate with domestic and foreign counterparts to combat money laundering, terrorism financing or proliferation financing, and may share information, conduct inquiries or inspections, appoint investigators on behalf of counterparts, and authorise or facilitate foreign inquiries.

Supervisory bodies have powers to supervise, inspect, compel information, issue guidelines, impose sanctions, and undertake consolidated supervision over reporting institutions for anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing and counter-proliferation-financing compliance.

The Financial Reporting Centre and supervisory bodies must use a risk-based approach when monitoring reporting institutions; the Centre or a supervisory body must review reporting institutions' risk assessments periodically and after major events.

The Centre or an appropriate law enforcement agency may apply to the High Court for a warrant to enter, search and remove documents from premises of a reporting institution, where specified conditions in the section are met.

Defines property for tracking and monitoring orders to include all monetary instruments and all other real or personal property of every description, whether situated in Kenya or elsewhere, tangible or intangible, and includes interests and legal documents or instruments evidencing title or interest in such property.

Section 39 makes it an offence for any person to fail to comply with obligations under the Act; the Financial Reporting Centre may apply to the High Court for orders to enforce compliance, and the High Court may impose fines (up to five million shillings for individuals and up to tweny-five million shillings for bodies corporate) if a reporting institution fails without reasonable excuse to comply with an order.

The Financial Reporting Centre's funds include money appropriated by Parliament, government grants and other legally acquired money; it may accept donations only with prior written approval of the Cabinet Secretary; and when sharing information it must adhere to the data principles in the Data Protection Act (Cap. 411C).

The financial year of the Centre is a period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth June of each year.

The Financial Reporting Centre must prepare annual estimates of its revenue and expenditure and obtain Board and Cabinet Secretary approval before the financial year; it may not increase the estimates without the Cabinet Secretary's consent.

The Financial Reporting Centre must keep proper books and records of its income, expenditure, assets and liabilities, and its accounts must be audited and reported under the Public Audit Act.

Reporting institutions must monitor and report suspicious or specified transactions to the Financial Reporting Centre, keep written findings, retain those findings for seven years, file cash transaction reports at or above the prescribed Fourth Schedule amount, and comply with specified documentation and timelines; lawyers and similar legal professionals have limited reporting duties where professional secrecy or privilege applies.

When calculating the period of five working days in subsection (1), Saturdays, Sundays and proclaimed public holidays are not taken into account.

Reporting institutions must verify customer identity and undertake customer due diligence based on materiality and risk, using reliable identity documentation and verifying beneficial owners.

Section 45A identifies and describes measures relating to higher risk countries for money laundering and terrorism financing.

Reporting institutions must keep and maintain detailed customer transaction records (domestic and international), record identity evidence when collected, ensure accounts bear the correct account holder name, record specified transaction details, and retain records for at least seven years or longer if required by the Centre.

Employees must identify the person or persons to whom they should report any information arising in the course of employment that gives rise to knowledge or suspicion that another person is engaged in money laundering or proliferation financing.

Reporting institutions must register with the Financial Reporting Centre and provide required particulars; the Centre must keep a register; institutions must notify changes within ninety days; failure to register is an offence.

Applies reporting obligations to buying and selling of real estate.

A preservation order or a forfeiture order made on the basis of an offence does not prevent making additional preservation or forfeiture orders for the same offence.

Notices or property references in this Part for a deceased person are to be treated as given to, or referencing, the deceased’s estate administrator and the property the deceased held immediately before death.

If a joint owner dies after a preservation order is made, the death does not vest the interest in the surviving joint owner(s) while the order remains in force, and the preservation order continues to apply to the interest as if the person had not died.

Section 49 establishes the Anti-Money Laundering Advisory Board, lists its members and appointing authorities, allows certain members to attend by representative, permits co-option of experts, and sets a three-year term (with one possible re-appointment) for private-sector appointees under subsection (1)(h).

The Financial Reporting Centre must provide administrative support and sufficient resources to the Anti-Money Laundering Advisory Board to enable it to perform its functions effectively.

The Board must conduct its business and affairs in accordance with the provisions of the Fifth Schedule; but, subject thereto, the Board may regulate its own procedure.

Defines key terms used in Parts VI–XII, including "any natural or legal person", the scope of "property", what counts as "proceeds of crime", and when a person "will have benefited from an offence."

Section 53 establishes the Assets Recovery Agency's capacities, and sets appointment, term and qualification requirements for the Agency Director, as well as staff and service-arrangement powers subject to Attorney‑General approval.

The Assets Recovery Agency may appoint staff with Attorney‑General approval; must set up a social security scheme with Cabinet Secretary for finance approval; investigators and the Director have police-like powers; counsel have State Counsel privileges; transferred public officers become Agency staff; the Agency may make regulations with Advisory Board approval.

The Assets Recovery Agency must implement Parts VII–XII and exercise the powers set out there; it also has all powers necessary or expedient to perform its functions.

The National Assembly must allocate adequate funds to the Assets Recovery Agency; the Agency must disclose grants annually, must not accept conditioned grants, the Agency Director must account for state monies, and recovered funds are generally retained for the Agency rather than paid into the Consolidated Fund.

The Agency shall open and maintain such bank accounts as are necessary for the exercise of the functions of the Agency.

Sets the Agency's financial year, requires the Agency to prepare annual expenditure estimates within three months before the financial year, lists elements the estimates must cover (salaries, pensions, maintenance, training, reserve funds), requires the Advisory Board to review and may alter and forward the estimates to the National Assembly for approval.

The Agency must keep proper books and records of account for its income, expenditure, assets and liabilities.

The Assets Recovery Agency must, within four months after each financial year ends, report on its activities and submit that report to the Attorney-General; the Attorney-General must, within fourteen days of receipt, submit the report to the President.

The Agency Director has the power to determine the device of the Agency's common seal, to direct its custody, and to order its use.

Persons or bodies involved in investigation or prosecution of offences under this Act and the Assets Recovery Agency must co-operate when exercising powers or performing functions under this Act.

Section 55A sets out membership, nomination and appointment procedures for the Asset Recovery Advisory Board, including specified members, nomination of two names by certain bodies, the Cabinet Secretary's appointment of three persons from those nominees, consideration of gender and regional balance, qualifications, and term length of three years with possible one-term reappointment.

The Advisory Board must advise the Assets Recovery Agency on its powers, functions, policies, administration, approve its annual budget and reports and may establish committees for carrying out its functions.

The Advisory Board must conduct its business and affairs in accordance with the Fifth Schedule and may regulate its own procedure, subject to that Schedule.

The Advisory Board may co-opt persons into its committees; co-opted persons may attend and participate in Advisory Board meetings but do not have a right to vote.

Members of the Asset Recovery Advisory Board are entitled to be paid allowances as determined by the Cabinet Secretary on the advice of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The Agency must provide the Advisory Board and its committees with facilities and resources necessary for the effective discharge of the Board's functions.

The Cabinet Secretary must, by Regulations, prescribe how the Asset Recovery Advisory Board discharges its functions and its meeting procedure; the Advisory Board must regulate its own procedure.

Proceedings on applications for confiscation orders or restraint orders are civil proceedings.

Realisable property includes any property held by the defendant and any property held by a person to whom that defendant has directly or indirectly given an affected gift; property is not realizable while a forfeiture order is in force in respect of it.

Specifies how the value of property is determined for the purposes of Section 58: market value less encumbrances when another person holds an interest; market value when no other person holds an interest; the value of a payment or reward when received; for non-cash property, the value at the time received; and where property represents previously received property, the value to the extent it represents that property.

Defines when a defendant is deemed to have made a gift: transferring property to any other person for consideration significantly less than the property's value.

Title: "Conclusion of proceedings against defendant"

Section 61 sets rules for confiscation orders, including the court's powers to hear further evidence and to direct affidavits, conditions under which the court may first sentence a defendant, and that the court may allow payment of an ordered amount over a specified period if the defendant requests time to pay.

Section 62 defines the value of a defendant's proceeds of crime as the sum of property, services, advantages, benefits or rewards received, retained or derived by the defendant after the commencement of the Act in connection with the offence.

A court must give all persons with an interest in the property an opportunity to make representations before determining amounts that might be realized.

Section 64 governs affidavits related to proceeds of crime: the Agency Director may (and must if directed by the court) tender affidavits to court; a copy must be served on the defendant; the defendant may dispute allegations and must state grounds if disputing; the defendant may tender affidavits about realizable amounts and a copy must be served on the Agency Director; the Agency Director may admit correctness of such affidavits.

The court must accept specified facts as prima facie evidence when assessing whether a defendant derived benefits or proceeds from offences.

When a court of competent jurisdiction makes a confiscation order, that order has the effect of a civil judgment.

If a defendant dies or absconds and proceedings cannot continue, the court may inquire into benefits and may make confiscation orders, appoint a receiver and authorise realization of property; the court must give interested persons an opportunity to make representations before exercising certain powers.

The Agency Director may apply ex parte to a court for a restraint order prohibiting persons from dealing with specified property; courts making restraint orders have powers to order discovery, authorise seizure, and must authorise seizure at the same time as the restraint order; certain living and legal expenses and business continuation are recognised in relation to restraint orders.

A court of competent jurisdiction may make a restraint order in specified circumstances; if the court made a restraint order under subsection (1)(b) it must rescind it if the relevant person is not charged within a period the court considers reasonable.

A restraint order and an order authorising seizure of property that are in force when the court decides in relation to a confiscation order remain in force pending the outcome of any appeal.

A police officer may seize property subject to a restraint order if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the property will be disposed of or removed contrary to the restraint order.

Section 72 empowers a court to appoint a manager over property subject to a restraint order; the appointed manager must manage, administer, care for, carry on a business if the property is a business, and may sell perishable property, and the court may order surrender of property to a receiver and vary or rescind appointments or orders and make orders about manager fees.

Affected persons may apply to rescind an order; the court may or must rescind the order in specified circumstances and must direct the Registrar of Lands to lift any land register restriction when rescission occurs.

Lodging an appeal against a decision to vary or rescind any order referred to in sections 68(10), 72(3) and 73(3) operates as a stay of that variation or rescission until the appeal is determined.

If a confiscation order has been made, is not subject to review or appeal, and proceedings are concluded, the court may appoint a receiver, authorise a manager or receiver to realise realizable property, and order persons holding such property to surrender it; the court must give interested persons an opportunity to make representations before exercising certain powers.

The Government must not have a preferential claim to certain sums of money described in this section.

Courts and receivers must exercise their powers to make the current value of realizable property available to satisfy confiscation orders; where property is held by a transferee of an affected gift they must realize not more than the gift's current value; powers may be exercised to allow third parties to retain or recover current value of property; subsection (1) does not prohibit a court from making additional orders about debts owed to the Government.

Section 78 lets a court issue a certificate if realizable property is inadequate, allows the defendant to apply for reduction, and permits the court to substitute a lesser amount; the court must also exclude inadequacy caused by the defendant preserving gifted property.

Courts must consider realizations of other persons' property when setting aside certain dispositions; the Official Receiver or a bankruptcy trustee can claim from the bankrupt; courts and receivers may exercise powers under subsection (3) despite the Insolvency Act.

If a restraint order has been made or a relevant resolution registered for a company or other legal entity, a court or receiver may not exercise certain powers in respect of property that is part of that entity's assets; nevertheless other laws do not prevent a court or receiver from exercising those subsection (2) powers in respect of the property or proceeds referred to in subsection (1).

Proceedings under this Part are civil proceedings and the rules of evidence for civil proceedings apply to them.

The Director of the Agency may apply ex parte to a court for a preservation order prohibiting any person from dealing with specified property; the court must authorise seizure of the property and may make ancillary orders.

When a court makes a preservation order, the Agency Director must, within twenty-one days, notify all persons known to have an interest in the property and publish notice in the Gazette; persons with an interest may notify an intention to oppose forfeiture or apply to exclude their interest, following time limits for entry of appearance.

If an application for a forfeiture order is pending before a court in respect of specified property, that property is the subject of the preservation order.

A police officer may seize property subject to a preservation order to prevent it being disposed of or removed if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe it will be so disposed or removed.

Section 86 appoints a manager over property subject to preservation orders and gives the manager specified powers (assume control, take care, administer, act as necessary, carry on any business with regard to law, and sell perishable property) and allows a court to order persons holding such property to surrender it to the manager.

A court that has made a preservation order over immovable property may order the Registrar of Lands to place a restriction on the land register, and the restriction can prevent mortgaging, attachment or sale without the court's consent, with certain vesting rules where the owner's estate is sequestrated or a company is wound up; affected persons may apply to rescind the order.

A preservation order may provide for reasonable living expenses of a person with an interest in property subject to the order and that person's family or household.

Section 89 sets out when and how preservation orders may be varied or rescinded, including court duties to rescind orders when proceedings conclude, to make consequential orders upon rescission of seizure orders, and duties to direct removal of caveats and for registrars to give effect.

If a preservation order is in force, the Agency Director may apply to the High Court for a forfeiture order for specified property; the Director must give fourteen days' notice to persons who served notice under section 83(3).

A person who failed to serve the section 83(3) notice may apply within 14 days for leave to serve it late; the court must make cost orders and may regulate the applicant's further participation; notices served after leave must include particulars and an affidavit.

The Court may make ancillary orders when it makes a forfeiture order (including orders to facilitate transfer of forfeited property to the Government), and the Registrar of the High Court who made the order must publish notice in the Gazette no more than thirty days after the order.

Third parties who claim an interest in property subject to a forfeiture order may apply to court within twelve months; applicants must give at least fourteen days' written notice to the Agency Director, who shall be a party to the proceedings; the court may order return of property or payment of value; applicants or the Agency Director may appeal.

Section 94. Exclusion of interests inproperty Section 94(1)(a) under section 90 (3); or Section 94(1)(b) by a person ("any natural or legal person;") referred to in section 91 (1), Section 94(2)(a) has acquired the interest concerned

Section 95 lets the High Court make a forfeiture order by default (including orders it could have made under section 88), make any other appropriate order, or make no order; the High Court may call on the Agency Director to adduce further evidence before making an order; an affected person may, within twenty days of learning of the order, set the matter down for variation or rescission; and a competent court may, on good cause shown, vary or rescind the default order.

A person who was entitled to notice but did not receive it may apply to the High Court within 45 days after the notice is published in the Gazette to exclude or vary the operation of a forfeiture order in respect of their interest; the High Court may make such an order if it finds on a balance of probabilities that the applicant falls within specified provisions of section 91.

Any preservation order and any order authorizing the seizure of property that is in force at the time of a decision to make a forfeiture order under section 92(1) remains in force pending the outcome of any appeal against that decision.

If the High Court makes a forfeiture order and no manager is appointed for the property, the High Court may appoint a manager; when the order takes effect the property is forfeited to the Government and vests in the manager, and the manager may take possession of the property on behalf of the Government from any person in possession or entitled to possession.

Forfeited property and proceeds are to be placed into the Criminal Assets Recovery Fund; rights in such forfeited property expire and persons who possessed the property immediately before forfeiture (or those acting with them) may not buy the forfeited property at sales held by the manager; expenses related to forfeiture and sale are to be paid from the Fund.

Production orders may require documents relating to identifying, locating or quantifying property or tainted property; documents produced may be inspected, copied and retained as reasonably necessary; where a police officer retains produced documents he must make a copy available to the person who produced them.

Documents produced under an order in this Part (and information or things obtained from them) are not admissible in criminal proceedings against the person who produced them, except in proceedings under section 107.

It is an offence for any natural or legal person to contravene a production order without reasonable cause or to knowingly produce or provide a document that is materially false or misleading; penalties include imprisonment up to seven years or fines (up to two million shillings for individuals, up to ten million shillings for corporations).

Police officers have the power to enter land or premises, search for documents described in section 103(1), and seize documents they reasonably believe are relevant to an offence.

Police officers may obtain a search warrant to enter premises and seize documents relevant to an offence under the conditions listed in Section 107.

Searches conducted without written reasons

Establishes the Criminal Assets Recovery Fund.

All moneys derived from the fulfilment of confiscation and forfeiture orders in Part VII to X form part of the Fund's finances.

The Fund shall be administered by the Agency.

Monies derived from concluded confiscation and forfeiture orders in Parts VII to X shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund (the Criminal Assets Recovery Fund).

Regulations may prescribe the Fund's administrative operations and the use of properties and monies credited to the Fund; regulations made under subsection (1) must be laid before Parliament.

The principles of mutuality and reciprocity must be recognised at all times for the purposes of this Part.

Section 115 lists kinds of international assistance Kenya may request from other countries (evidence, search warrants, persons to assist, enforcement of restraint/forfeiture, service of orders, and other assistance).

Evidence obtained from another country is to be received in evidence in Kenya.

A request under section 115(c) authorises the entry into and departure from Kenya, and the presence in Kenya, of the person who is the subject of the request for so long as required for the purposes of the request.

When another country requests assistance to obtain evidence for an investigation or proceeding for an offence under its corresponding law, the Attorney-General may nominate a Kenyan court to receive the evidence; that nominated court has the same powers to secure witnesses, administer oaths and receive evidence as in other proceedings; the court must certify or verify evidence as specified by the Attorney-General and then furnish it to the Attorney-General for transmission to the requesting country.

If a foreign country requests assistance to obtain and execute a search and seizure warrant and certain conditions are met, the Attorney-General may apply to the High Court for that warrant.

The High Court must register certain foreign restraint or confiscation orders on application by the Attorney-General, subject to conditions; the Attorney-General may apply for restraint orders and may remit forfeited property; persons entitled to notice have 30 days to object.

Subsection (4) makes it an offence for any person to contravene subsection (3); on conviction the person may face up to three years' imprisonment, a fine up to two million shillings, or both.

The Attorney-General may, under written authority and before starting civil or criminal proceedings, direct a specific investigation when they have reason to believe a person or enterprise may hold information or documentary material relevant to an alleged offence.

When an investigation is instituted under this Act (including investigations into other offences or into a person’s property, financial activities, affairs or business), the Commissioner‑General of the Kenya Revenue Authority or an official designated by that person shall be notified so the authorities can cooperate and share information.

Court hearings are generally open to the public, with specified exceptions allowing proceedings to be held behind closed doors and protections preventing disclosure of identifying witness information; breaches carry criminal penalties.

An authorised officer may apply ex parte for a monitoring order requiring a reporting institution (financial institution and designated non-financial business and profession) to disclose account transaction information to that officer; the court may set the period; contravention or providing false information is punishable (natural person: up to 3 years imprisonment or fine up to 2 million shillings or both; body corporate: fine up to 10 million shillings).

Persons listed as recipients in subsection (1) must not disclose the existence or operation of a monitoring order except to another such recipient and only for performing their duties; contravention is an offence punishable on conviction by imprisonment not exceeding three years or fines (two million shillings for natural persons; ten million shillings for bodies corporate).

Conduct by any natural or legal person that occurs outside Kenya is an offence under this Act if that conduct would be an offence in Kenya.

Any court handling a matter under this Act may admit electronic evidence.

Rules on admissibility of statements and documents of persons who are dead or cannot be traced, including any statement made by any person to an officer of any enforcement agency in the course of an investigation under this Act.

No person shall disclose information obtained under this Act except for performance of duties, when lawfully required by a court, or under written law; persons who learn of disclosures made in contravention of that rule must not pass the information on; contravention is an offence punishable by up to one year imprisonment or a fine not exceeding one million shillings or both.

All persons subject to this Act are entitled to enjoy all rights and fundamental freedoms in the Constitution, subject to the limits in Article 24, this Act or any other Act.

The right to privacy is limited only to the nature and extent contemplated under subsection (2).

The Agency Director shall serve for the remaining period of the contract or the period in section 53 (2A), whichever is longer.

If there is a conflict between this Act and any written law on any matter, the provisions of this Act shall prevail.

The Cabinet Secretary may, by order published in the Gazette, amend the First, Second or Fourth Schedules.

Section 134 empowers the making of regulations on specified matters and authorises regulations that require reporting institutions to perform customer due diligence, maintain records, report suspicious transactions, and implement internal reporting, training, auditing and anti-money-laundering programmes.