State to legalize email and phone bugging in shady money war

State to legalize email and phone bugging in shady money war

If parliament accepts revisions to a Bill aiming to further up the fight against terrorism and dirty money deals in the nation, phone calls and emails of Kenyans suspected of dealing in money laundering and financing terrorists will be monitored.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was amended on Wednesday by the Parliamentary Committee on Finance to make it lawful to bug suspects’ private communications.

If the House approves the plan, the State security apparatus will have unrestricted access to the private communications of anyone suspected of financing terrorism and money laundering.

Currently, it is illegal for State agencies to eavesdrop on anyone who is thought to be involved in money laundering and terrorism financing.

The proposed change states that “the privacy of a person’s communications may be investigated or otherwise interfered with where a person is suspected or accused of an offense under this Act.”

Five statutes that are being changed by the Bill are mentioned in the new clause.

These include the National Payments Systems Act, the Insurance Act, the Banking Act, the Central Bank of Kenya Act, and the Act on Capital Markets.

The proposed reforms will take effect six months after the Bill is introduced, and attorneys will begin disclosing any questionable business dealings involving their clients.

On Wednesday, the Third Reading of the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was easily passed. For the Bill to become law, President William Ruto must sign it.