Where fraud, corruption or drug offences are alleged, a second layer often follows: allegations about what happened to the money. The Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act , POCAMLA , creates the laundering offences, the reporting regime and the mechanisms through which property can be frozen while an investigation runs its course.
What does POCAMLA cover?
The Act targets dealing in the proceeds of crime: converting, transferring or concealing property that is, or that a person has reason to believe is, derived from unlawful activity, as well as acquiring, possessing or using such property. It also imposes obligations on reporting institutions , banks and others in the financial system , to monitor transactions and lodge reports, and it establishes the machinery through which suspicious activity reaches the authorities.
How do investigations proceed?
Reports from reporting institutions feed into the Financial Reporting Centre, and investigations may follow transactions across accounts, companies and property registers. Where investigators consider that assets may be dissipated, orders preserving or freezing property can be sought through the courts. These steps are investigative, not conclusive: a person under investigation is presumed innocent, and no finding follows from a freeze order alone.
What should a person or business do on notice of an investigation?
- preserve records , documents, statements and correspondence should not be destroyed or altered;
- take legal advice before responding to requests for information or interviews;
- identify which transactions and accounts are in question, and who dealt with them;
- review the compliance trail , what the business knew, recorded and reported at the time;
- respond through counsel so that answers are consistent and considered.
Why does this matter for businesses?
Banks, insurers, real estate agents and other sectors within the reporting regime face obligations of their own, and a business whose records are organised meets those obligations with far less disruption than one whose records are not. For financial institutions and regulated businesses, our banking and securities practice advises on the compliance and reporting framework; our practice areas page sets out the full range of our work. The Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act can be read on Kenya Law.
For guidance on your specific situation, contact CS Advocates LLP , call, WhatsApp, or book a confidential consultation at our Westlands, Nairobi office.