Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act
2. Interpretation
2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—"account"includes any facility or arrangement by which a reporting institutiondoes any one or more of the following—(a)accepts deposits of monetary instruments;(b)allows withdrawals of monetary instrumentsor transfers into or out of the account;(c)pays cheques or payment orders drawn on a financial institutionor collects cheques or payment orders on behalf of any person;(d)supplies a facility or arrangement for a safety or fixed term deposit box;"accounting officer"means an accounting officer appointed under section 17 of the Government Financial Management Act(Repealed);"Advisory Board"means the Asset Recovery Advisory Board established under section 55A;"affected gift"means any gift made by the defendantat any time, if it was a gift of property—(a)received by that defendant in connection with an offencecommitted by him or any other person; or(b)any part thereof, which, directly or indirectly represents, in that defendant’s hands, the propertywhich that personreceived in that connection with an offence:Provided that any such gift was made on or after the commencement of this Act;"Agency"means the Assets Recovery Agency established under section 53(1);"Agency Director"means the Director-Generalof the Agencyappointed under section 53(2);"authorised officer"means—(a)a police officer;(b)an officer of the department of the Kenya Revenue Authorityfor the time being responsible for matters relating to customs;(c)Agency Director-General; or(d)any personor class of persons designated by the Cabinet Secretaryas an authorised officer to perform any function under this Act;"Board"means the Anti-Money Laundering Advisory Boardestablished under section 49;"Cabinet Secretary" means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to finance;"Centre"means the Financial Reporting Centre established under section 21;"competent authority" means a public authority other than a self-regulatory body with designated responsibilities for combating money laundering, financing of terrorism and proliferation financing;"confiscation order"means an order referred to in section 61;"court"means a court of competent jurisdiction;"customs"or "the customs" means the customs department of the Kenya Revenue Authority;"data"means representations, in any form, of information or concepts;“dealer in precious stones or metals”includes a personengaged in—(a)mining operations;(b)intermediate buying and brokering of precious stones and precious metals;(c)the cutting, polishing and refining of precious stones and precious metals;(d)the manufacturing of jewellery;(e)the retail selling of precious stones and precious metals."defendant"means a personagainst whom a prosecution for an offencehas been instituted, irrespective of whether that personhas been convicted or not;"designated non-financial businesses or professions"means—(a)casinos (including internet casinos);(b)real estate agencies;(c)dealers in precious metals;(d)dealers in precious stones;(e)accountants who are sole practitioners, partners or employees within professional firms;(f)deleted by Act No. 6 of 2025, Sch.;(fa)trust and company service providers;(fb)advocates, notaries and other independent legal professionals who are sole practitioners, partners or employees within professional firms;(g)such other business or profession in which the risk of money laundering, financing of terrorism and proliferation financing exists as the Cabinet Secretarymay, on the advice of the Centre, declare;"Deputy Director"deleted by Act No. 16 of 2021, s. 2 (a);"Director-General"means the Director-General appointed under section 25;"document"means any record of information, and includes—(a)anything on which there is writing;(b)anything on which there are marks, figures, symbols, or perforations having meaning for persons qualified to interpret them;(c)anything from which sounds, images, writings or datacan be retrieved, with or without the aid of anything else; or(d)a map, plan, drawing, photograph, video tape or similar thing;"estate agency"in connection with the selling, mortgaging, charging, letting or management of immovable propertyor of any house, shop or other building forming part thereof, means doing any of the following acts—(a)bringing together, or taking steps to bring together, a prospective vendor, lessor or lender and a prospective purchaser, lessee or borrower; or(b)negotiating the terms of sale, mortgage, charge or letting as an intermediary between or on behalf of either of the principals;“financial group”means a group that consists of a parent company or of any other type of legal personexercising control and coordinating functions over the rest of the group, together with branches or subsidiaries that are subject to Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing policies and procedures at the group level;"financial institution"means any personor entity, which conducts as a business, one or more of the following activities or operations—(a)accepting deposits and other repayable funds from the public;(b)lending, including consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring, with or without recourse, and financing of commercial transactions;(c)financial leasing;(d)transferring of funds or value, by any means, including both formal and informal channels;(e)issuing and managing means of payment (such as credit and debit cards, cheques, travellers’ cheques, money orders and bankers’ drafts, and electronic money);(f)financial guarantees and commitments;(g)trading in—(i)money market instruments, including cheques, bills, certificates of deposit and derivatives;(ii)foreign exchange;(iii)exchange, interest rate and index funds;(iv)transferable securities; and(v)commodity futures trading;(h)participation in securities issues and the provision of financial services related to such issues;(i)individual and collective portfolio management;(j)safekeeping and administration of cash or liquid securities on behalf of other persons;(k)otherwise investing, administering or managing funds or money on behalf of other persons;(l)underwriting and placement of life insurance and other investment related insurance; and(m)money and currency changing:Provided that this applies both to insurance underwriter and to insurance intermediaries including agents and brokers;"fixed date", in relation to a defendantagainst whom—(a)a prosecution for an offencehas been instituted, means the date on which such prosecution has been instituted; or(b)a restraint orderhas been made means the date of such restraints order, whichever is the earlier date;"Fund"means the Criminal Assets Recovery Fund established under section 109;"inspector"means a persondesignated as such under this Act;"Kenya Revenue Authority"means the Kenya Revenue Authority established by section 3of the Kenya Revenue Authority Act(Cap. 469);"Minister"deleted by Act No. 16 of 2021, s. 2 (d);"monetary instruments"means—(a)coins and paper currency designated as legal tender of Kenya or of a foreign country and which is customarily used and accepted as a medium of exchange in Kenya or the country of issue;(b)travellers' cheques, personal cheques, bank cheques, money orders or securities;(c)any other negotiable instrument which is in bearer form, or other form through which title passes upon delivery;"money laundering"means an offenceunder any of the provisions of sections 3, 4and 7;"offence"in this Act, means an offence against a provision of any law in Kenya, or an offence against a provision of any law in a foreign state for conduct which, if it occurred in Kenya, would constitute an offence against a provision of any law in Kenya;"person"means any natural or legal person;"proceeds of crime"means any propertyor economic advantage derived or realized, directly or indirectly, as a result of or in connection with an offenceirrespective of the identity of the offender and includes, on a proportional basis, propertyinto which any propertyderived or realized directly from the offencewas later successively converted, transformed or intermingled, as well as income, capital or other economic gains or benefits derived or realized from such propertyfrom the time the offencewas committed;"property"means all monetary instrumentsand all other real or personal property of every description, including things in action or other incorporeal or heritable property, whether situated in Kenya or elsewhere, whether tangible or intangible, and includes an interest in any such property and any such legal documents or instruments evidencing title to or interest in such property;"realizable property"means-(a)propertylaundered;(b)proceeds from or instrumentalities used in, or intended to be used in money launderingor predicate offences;(c)propertythat is the proceeds of, or used, or intended or allocated for use in, the financing of any offence; and(d)propertyof corresponding value;"regulations"means regulations made under this Act;"reporting institution"means a financial institution, designated non-financial business and profession or a virtual asset service provider;"restraint order"means an order made under section 68;“Self-regulatory body”means the Law Society of Kenya;"supervisory body"means a functionary or institution specified in the First Schedule or such other functionary or institution as may be prescribed by the Cabinet Secretary;"tainted property"in relation to an offencemeans—(a)any propertyused in, or in connection with, the commission of the offence;(b)any proceeds of the offence; or(c)any propertyin Kenya which is the proceeds of a foreign offencein respect of which an order may be registered, and when used without reference to a particular offencemeans tainted property in relation to an arrestable offence;"virtual asset service provider"has the meaning assigned to it under section 2 of the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act. (Act No. 51 of 2012, s. 2, Act No. 14 of 2015, s. 48, Act No. 3 of 2017, s. 2, Act No. 18 of 2018, Sch., Act No. 16 of 2021, s. 2, Act No. 10 of 2023, Sch, Act No. 6 of 2025, Sch., Act No. 20 of 2025, Sch.)Source: Kenya Law