At a pivotal Financial Investigations & Asset Recovery Workshop held at the Kenya School of Government, DCI’s Director of Investigations, Mr. Komesha, reiterated the Directorate’s unwavering commitment to pursuing financial crime – covering money laundering, terrorism financing, and organized litigation – via robust parallel investigations.
“Proceeds of crime are no longer hidden under mattresses; they are laundered through complex corporate structures, layered across global bank accounts, and concealed within real estate or cryptocurrency. As the landscape of criminality transforms, so too must our response.”
– Mr. Komesha, DCI
This aligns with DCI’s “Follow the Money” policy and the sharpening of its Financial Investigations Unit, reflecting a strategic pivot to track illicit flows across multiple asset types – and crypto is now central to their radar.
STRENGTHENING THE FIGHT AGAINST FINANCIAL CRIME
The Director Investigations Bureau at DCI Headquarters has reaffirmed the DCI’s commitment to investigating money laundering, terrorism financing, and major predicate offences, including organised crime, through institutionalised… pic.twitter.com/6Zl4ZtA1s6
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) June 11, 2025
Recent Crypto Crime Trends in Kenya
Kenya’s experience with crypto-enabled crimes is both significant and escalating:
- In March 2025, Nairobi detectives seized two fraudsters who duped a Chinese national of KES 6.5 million (~USD 50,500) through a cryptocurrency scam
[TECH] REGULATION | Kenyan Detectives, the DCI, Nab Thieves Masquerading as Cryptocurrency Exchange Experts: Detectives in Nairobi have apprehended two fraudsters who swindled a Chinese national out of KES 6.. https://t.co/Eg1kmb7ifp via @BitcoinKE
— Top Kenyan Blogs (@Blogs_Kenya) March 2, 2025
- In February 2025, DCI’s own X/Facebook accounts were hijacked to promote a scam “$DCI” token – prompting official cybercrime alerts
🇰🇪 LATEST | Hackers Attack the Kenya Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI Kenya) X and Facebook Accounts Promoting the $DCI Token
The hackers said the token was listed on major exchanges, notably @binance and @pumpdotfun https://t.co/K2dlNGS1c2 @DCI_Kenya
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) February 10, 2025
- Estimates show Kenyans lost over $120 million to crypto and forex scams in just one year
🇰🇪 SCAM ALERT | Kenyans Count Losses on CBEX Crypto and Forex Trading Platform
“Today morning, I woke up with like $6,000 (KES 777,680) in my crypto wallet. But at around 7 PM, it had been cleared to zero.”https://t.co/h1ZWFjfKZa @KeTreasury @CMAKenya @CBKKenya @DCI_Kenya pic.twitter.com/0h7jq8cRXg
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) April 16, 2025
- Meanwhile, large-scale P2P trading remains prevalent, placing Kenya 21st globally in Chainalysis’ adoption index and 3rd in P2P volume
17 Out of the Top 20 Markets in Global Crypto Adoption are in Emerging Markets – Kenya 🇰🇪 Tops in Africa – Says Latest 2021 Chainalysis Index: https://t.co/Rd6WTYDuXC
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) August 21, 2021
These trends underscore why regulatory bodies and financial crime agencies are sounding the alarm—and why the workshop’s timing couldn’t be more critical.
Regulatory & Enforcement Landscape
BitKE has previously covered key developments shaping Kenya’s regulatory response:
- In June 2025, the EU designated Kenya as a high-risk AML/CTF jurisdiction due in part to shortcomings in prosecuting money laundering and crypto-related offenses.
REGULATION | European Commission (EU) Officially Lists Kenya🇰🇪 as High-Risk Country for Money (ML) Laundering and Terrorism Financing (TF)
Kenya now joins a list of 9 other countries globally on the @EU_Commission watchlist for ML and TF.https://t.co/VEgzJZyXDM @FATFNews #EU pic.twitter.com/A0pCZGQld3
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) June 14, 2025
- The IMF-backed Technical Assistance Report (Jan 2025) notes that the DCI issued a public alert in February 2024 warning against crypto-platform fraud – which spurred national efforts to finalize crypto regulations by April 2025
[TECH] REPORT | IMF Advises the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya to Create Predictable Regulatory Framework for the Crypto market: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended that Kenya establish.. https://t.co/a97RZFJX0s via @BitcoinKE
— Top Kenyan Blogs (@Blogs_Kenya) January 10, 2025
- In May 2025, the Kenya High Court ruled Worldcoin’s biometric data collection illegal, a landmark decision reinforcing the risks tied to overlapping crypto and data privacy breaches
These points highlight a policy landscape rapidly evolving – driven as much by international peer pressure (EU/FATF greylisting) as by domestic enforcement and landmark court rulings.
🇰🇪🇳🇦REGULATION | Kenya 🇰🇪 and Namibia 🇳🇦 Latest African Countries Added to Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List
According to FATF, Kenya primarily faces risks associated with flows of money connected to terrorism financing from both domestic and international sources,… pic.twitter.com/zsHXN1vCCC
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) February 26, 2024
Collaboration: The Key to Success
The workshop brought together top anti-crime institutions, notably:
- Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC)
- UNODC African Anti-Corruption Hub
- EU/UNODC PLEAD II Programme
- Global Programme on Money Laundering (GPML)
- National Integrity Academy
Facilitating knowledge exchange and joint operational strategies, these partnerships are vital to mounting a united front.
Bottom Line
Kenya’s anti-money laundering and financial crime apparatus is undergoing a much-needed overhaul:
- Stronger enforcement: DCI is actively pursuing crypto-enabled fraud with new methods.
- Regulatory clarity: Guidance from IMF, CMA, CBK & Treasury aims for enforceable VASP frameworks.
- Capacity building: Cross-institutional workshops are developing skills to match evolving crypto threats.
- International alignment: EU/FATF attention is speeding Kenya’s march toward global AML/CTF standards.
As crypto adoption deepens across Africa, Kenya’s efforts to regulate, investigate, and prosecute crypto-linked crime will be critical in balancing innovation with security.
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