DCI AML Training and Kenya’s FATF Monitoring Status
Updated October 9, 2026
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) held anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing seminars for senior officers in Mombasa and Nakuru in February 2026. The sessions formed part of Kenya’s work to strengthen financial-crime investigations. Training is one step in that work; the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assesses the country’s wider system and its results.
What the seminars addressed
Contemporaneous reporting said the seminars covered money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing. The DCI’s broader training responsibilities include professional development for investigators. The public reports on the February seminars do not establish that one course alone resolved any of Kenya’s FATF action items.
Kenya remained under increased monitoring in June 2026
FATF’s June 19, 2026 statement continued to list Kenya among jurisdictions under increased monitoring, often called the “grey list.” The statement recognised progress but said Kenya still needed to address strategic deficiencies, including risk-based supervision, beneficial-ownership information, financial intelligence, money-laundering investigations and prosecutions, targeted financial sanctions, and risk-based oversight of non-profit organisations.
FATF increased monitoring does not mean Kenya is cut off from global finance. FATF says the status reflects an agreed action plan and does not call for automatic enhanced due diligence or de-risking of entire classes of customers. Financial institutions are expected to use a risk-based approach.
How to judge progress
Training attendance is an input, not proof that the broader system is effective. The FATF action plan concerns supervision, suspicious-transaction reporting, accurate ownership records, financial intelligence, investigations, prosecutions and the implementation of targeted sanctions. Public FATF updates are the best source for whether Kenya’s status or outstanding actions have changed.
