Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta today signed an agreement with Switzerland’s President Alain Berset that clears the way for the recovery of money and assets stashed in foreign countries.
The agreement, Framework for the Return of Assets from Corruption and Crime in Kenya (FRACCK), is also supported by the United Kingdom and Jersey Island, where most of the stolen money from Kenya had been hidden.
President Kenyatta said the move was in a bid to eliminate corruption in the country.
“We have seen, in the last few months, a new intensity in the fight against corruption in Kenya. Quite frankly, my administration has shown that corruption cannot, and, will not, be tolerated,” he said in a statement.
The two countries have also ae also working on an agreement to tackle double taxation, with Kenya planning to open an embassy in Switzerland.
President Berset is in the country for a two-day official visit.
Nigeria had also gone through the process of receiving funds stashed away by former President Sani Abacha. Tanzania also signed a similar agreement in 2016. The Democratic Republic of Congo lost out on funds stored in Switzerland by President Mobutu Sese Seko after it was released to his family in 2009.
Kenya’s quest to recover money stashed in offshore accounts started decades ago, with the recently released Paradise and Panama Papers indicating the Jersey Island and Cayman Island as the top destination for illegally acquired cash.
