30 November 2019
Post By Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
As part of Kenya’s ongoing efforts to tackle bribery and corruption it had enacted the 2016 Bribery Act (“the Act”). The Act requires, among other things, that public and private entities implement appropriate procedures to prevent bribery and corruption. In order to assist public and private entities to understand what this means for them in practice, the Kenyan Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission established a Technical Committee on Implementation of the Bribery Act (the “Technical Committee”) to develop and implement regulations and guidelines for public and private entities in relation to this offence. Transparency International Kenya, as a member of the Technical Committee, approached ISLP to request specialist advice on this project. ISLP received assistance from solicitors at Herbert Smith Freehills (“HSF”) and Norton Rose Fulbright (“NRF”) with expertise on such matters. The HSF and NRF teams worked together to produce a detailed review of the draft regulations and guidelines, which highlighted suggested areas for improvements. They also prepared an overview of international best standards and practices in this area, to assist the Technical Committee to understand the approach other countries have taken in this respect.
Separately, HSF and ISLP also assisted Transparency International Kenya to analyse the draft of Kenya’s ‘Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering (Criminal Assets Recovery Fund) (Administration) Regulations, 2019’ (the “Draft Regulations”). The Draft Regulations are intended to establish a Criminal Assets Recovery Fund (“the Fund”) to receive monies and property obtained from confiscations and forfeitures made under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2009 and Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act, 2003. The Fund will then use the monies and property received to build capacities for law enforcement and criminal justice in Kenya. The Regulations include, among other things, provisions regarding how the Fund will be managed, how disbursements will be made from the Fund, and related governance issues. They also propose to establish a Criminal Assets Recovery Fund Committee to oversee the management and administration of the Fund. HSF and ISLP provided comments on the draft Regulations, including how they compared to equivalent regulations or laws in other jurisdictions.
Post By Herbert Smith Freehills LLP