Syndicates launder stolen US COVID-19 funds in Kenya

This case study by the Institute for Security Studies describes a scheme where money laundering syndicates stole US COVID-19 relief funds from child nutrition programmes and laundered them through Kenya, Turkey, and Dubai. It highlights significant failures in Kenya's legal framework and enforcement, noting that despite US convictions, no suspects have been prosecuted in Kenya nor have their Kenyan assets been seized.

• Between February 2020 and February 2022, approximately US$250 million in stolen US COVID-19 relief funds were illegally transferred through Kenyan financial institutions, including banks and real estate agencies, to purchase luxury items such as beach plots, holiday homes, and vehicles.
• The fraud involved the theft of funds from federally-funded US child nutrition programmes, facilitated by US citizens in the humanitarian sector and those with kinship links to Kenya. Specific examples include Aimee Bock transferring US$32 million to Abdiaziz Shafii Farah under the guise of providing 16,000 meals in Savage City, Minnesota, and Liban Yasin Alishire fraudulently claiming to provide over 800,000 meals to receive more than US$2.4 million.
• The case exposes critical weaknesses in Kenya's anti-money laundering efforts, specifically the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2012, which is noted for failing to sufficiently address the extraterritoriality of money laundering crimes. This has resulted in insufficient regulation of funds entering the legal, banking, and real estate sectors.
• Despite the successful conviction of 47 suspects in US courts, there has been a total lack of domestic legal action in Kenya; no suspects have been prosecuted in Kenyan courts, and no properties associated with the fraud have been attached by the Assets Recovery Agency.

APA

Okumu, W., & Daghar, M. (n.d.). Syndicates launder stolen US COVID-19 funds in Kenya. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/syndicates-launder-stolen-us-covid-19-funds-in-kenya

Chicago

Okumu, Willis, and Mohamed Daghar. Syndicates launder stolen US COVID-19 funds in Kenya. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/syndicates-launder-stolen-us-covid-19-funds-in-kenya.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Okumu |first1=Willis |last2=Daghar |first2=Mohamed |title=Syndicates launder stolen US COVID-19 funds in Kenya |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/syndicates-launder-stolen-us-covid-19-funds-in-kenya |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{okumundsyndicates, author = {Okumu, Willis and Daghar, Mohamed}, title = {{Syndicates launder stolen US COVID-19 funds in Kenya}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/syndicates-launder-stolen-us-covid-19-funds-in-kenya}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }