By Simdi Gloria:-
A high Court in Kenya on Wednesday ordered the confiscation of over N454million (KSh100 million) from a Nigerian national, Muazu Bala, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to be deposited at Central Bank of Kenya.
According to KenyaReport, Bala was arrested at the airport last Friday with the cash.
The Assets and Recovery Agency, suspect it could be proceeds of crime or money laundering.
Assets and Recovery Agency filed a case in court seeking orders to freeze the cash.
The money seized from Bala last Friday is in three denominations; US dollars (880,000), Euros (60,000), and Naira (63,000).
To effectively investigate the matter, DCI Transnational Organized Crime Detectives are working with the ARA. The seized cash is believed to be from International Criminal Cartels,” says the DCI.
His failure to declare that he was carrying such a huge amount of documents to support the legitimacy of the cash, raises suspicion of money laundering,” says ARA.
Bala said the cash was for conducting business in Dubai but he did not have any supporting documents on the nature of the said business, or authorisation to move large amounts of cash.
In most international airports, one must declare currency of over $10,000.
While having large amounts of cash is technically not illegal, failure to declare it can lead to forfeiture.