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{
    "id": 1554497,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1554497/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 351,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tharaka, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. George Murugara",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Government and Kenyans. We have set out the ten statutes that are sought to be amended. This is clearly in the Report on page 10, which the Members may look at. It is also important to go through each of these laws, as the Whip of the Majority Party has stated. The Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act in our country is enforced through the Assets Recovery Agency, which tries to recover proceeds of crime and money laundering. Once they are recovered, they are given to the State. We have the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which deals with all the terrorism laws in the country. This is where we have to make certain amendments to ensure we combat terrorism as required. We have the Betting, Lotteries, and Gaming Act, which is another important Act. If it is not carefully scrutinised and used properly, money will be laundered through betting, lotteries and gaming because this is an easier way of covering tracts of how you get money and how you use it. It is easier to clean it through most of them. We have the Retirement Benefits Act, which is an investment fund. Money can be laundered through it because not many questions will be asked because it is purely for retiring people and the benefits they get. The Mining Act is interesting because this is where people come into the country under the pretext of mining or prospecting for minerals, only for them to turn around to laundering money in precious stones, including gemstones, gold and other minerals available, and some of which are not available. You hear interesting stories about large quantities of gold being shipped through our airports, not knowing exactly where it is coming from. This is part of the syndicate on money laundering. It goes all the way to the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Act, which is now renamed the Public Benefits Organisation Act, No.18 of 2013. NGOs bring money into the country through certain exemptions only to find that some of it is illegal. It is being proliferated into the country through illegal means. We have to look at this. We conducted public participation and analysed exactly what each agency told us. This is very important because some of these legislations are sometimes challenged in Court for various reasons. Most of what comes out is whether there was adequate public participation. We believe we have actually done this. Therefore, this takes us to the Committee recommendations and observations, where we have made certain further amendments. They are contained in the schedule to the Report. These further amendments are required in the various acts to strengthen the operation of anti-money laundering laws in the country. Those amendments are proposed especially for the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-money Laundering Act, the Mining Act itself, where we have agreed the proposals made and the Estate Agents Act is also proposed. We received further proposals on what is to be amended. However, having carefully analysed them, we were of the view that it was falling beyond the mandate of this Bill, which has been introduced to amend ten statutes. So, some of those proposed amendments, especially by the Law Society of Kenya, were going into other statutes which are not part of this Bill. Our observation, including many others received from different quarters, is that we should prepare a Statute Miscellaneous Amendment Bill to bring all those proposals together and see whether they can go through the House. Having analysed this Bill, it is a very important Bill. I urge the House to adopt the same. With those remarks, I beg to second."
}