Nairobi Central Business District (CBD), Kenya | Credit | Eye Radio | Oct. 17, 2021

Kenya is facing money laundering risks for allowing South Sudanese corrupt leaders to infiltrate its banking systems and real estate with their stolen petrodollars, a report has said.

Conducted by The Sentry, the report titled: Kenya Illicit Finance Risks and Assessment, shows how politicians in South Sudan purchased luxury properties in the neighboring country and set up joint business ventures with local partners and used local banks to transfer money.

“The Sentry obtained documents indicating that millions of dollars in questionable payments linked to top South Sudanese officials have transited through Kenyan banks,” the US-based anti-money laundering advocacy group has said.

The Sentry said it identified a property belonging to a senior military official linked to violent land grabs, ethnic conflict and corruption scandals in South Sudan.

The group also cites yet another official as having procured a luxurious house in Nairobi whose value does not match his modest salary.

The report also notes that members of several South Sudanese high-ranking government officials – some of whom have been blacklisted by the UN – reside in one particular upscale neighborhood in Nairobi and their children attend local private schools.

Five years ago, President Kiir acknowledged that officials in his government “have bought apartments, very beautiful houses, villas in Kenya and they refused to reveal them.

It comes two months after an anti-corruption court in Nairobi lifted a freeze order on two bank accounts, one of them dollar-denominated, belonging to Dr Lomuro.

They had been frozen in June on claims of money laundering and fueling violence.

The report urges Kenyan government to enact and enforce sanctions through a central body responsible for the coordination and enforcement of all UN sanctions programs, including against South Sudanese profiteers and their international collaborators.

“Kenya’s banking presence in these regions is a positive step toward financial inclusion in these countries, but enhanced due diligence is key to managing correspondent banking relationships while at the same avoiding large-scale de-risking action,” the US-based Sentry has said.