Kenya: Money remittance firms linked to terrorism in drive to spruce up image

NAIROBI: The money remittance firms that had been shut down over alleged terrorism links have unveiled a major drive to undo possible  damage on their brand names and win back the confidence of their current and potential clients.

Speaking Wednesday morning, a day after the government allowed them back to business, the firms said that they are keen to clean up their public image that had been soiled by being unfairly linked to terrorism financing.

The 13 firms were closed down in April after the horrific attack on Garissa University College in which 148 people were killed, mostly unarmed students.

 “We are rolling out a number of strategies including raising public awareness that our business are legitimate entities with no links whatsoever to any form of criminality. We have always operated above board and will continue to do so,” said Anthony Wachira, CEO of Kenya Forex and Remittance Association, the umbrella body of the remittance firms.

He added: “There is no doubt that the closure of our businesses and the alleged link with terrorism has negatively affected how the public views us. But we are confident that we will overcome this and quickly recover our good reputation and credibility."

On his part, Mr Abdirashid Duale, CEO of Dahabshiil, one of the largest money transfer firms that had been suspended, said in a statement that comprehensive investigations into their operations gave them a clean bill of health.

"The authorities gave us back our licenses after being satisfied that the company complies fully with the law, and operates strict anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing practices. We are delighted that the investigations have revealed that we operate above board ,”  he said.

He added: "The Dahabshiil network operates in 126 countries, including Kenya, the UK and the USA, and we respect and comply with all the laws of each and every country."

Wachira also said that they are keen to work with the Central Bank of Kenya and other relevant bodies to ensure that the regulations governing the operations of the money remittance providers are fully implemented.

 “We emphasiae that the association will continue being committed to ensuring that the business conducted by our members continues to be both professional and within the legal framework,” he said.

The firms were also included in the blacklist of 89 entities that the government accused of financing terrorism, a charge with the money remittance firms strongly deny.

According to KFRA, the 13 remittance firms that had been closed down controlled at least 30 per cent of all the money remittances from the diaspora into the country. Last year, Kenyans abroad sent more than Sh100 billion home. 

Many Kenyans are attracted to the 13 firms because of their relatively less expensive fees compared to commercial banks.

They also give clients the option of being paid in the currency that the money was sent in or convert it to local currency at relatively generous exchange rates.