Kenya’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Amendment Act 2025 and EU’s high-risk listing

On 14 June 2025, President William Ruto signed the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating of Terrorism Financing and Proliferation Financing (Amendment) Act, 2025 into law. Further to our earlier update on Kenya’s FATF grey listing and the evolving regulatory landscape, we are pleased to share our latest AML Amendment Act 2025 Digest, which dives deeper into the legislative changes under the Act.

Subsequently, On June 10, 2025, the European Commission formally added Kenya to its list of high-risk third countries for Anti-Money Laundering, Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and Countering Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) deficiencies. Alongside Kenya, the Commission added nine other jurisdictions, while removing eight, including the UAE, Uganda and Panama, citing progress on structural AML reforms. We have prepared a brief article highlighting this development and its implications.     

As mentioned previously, Kenya’s continued listing under FATF’s grey list and inclusion in EU’s list of high-risk jurisdictions has prompted accelerated reforms. The Amendment Act introduces substantial changes across ten key statutes including Proceeds of Crime and Anti money Laundering Act (POCAMLA), Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), and sector-specific laws.

In the digest, we highlight the key amendments under the Act and their implications.

In the article, we explore what Kenya’s inclusion in EU’s list of high risk third countries means and the amends Kenya needs to make to exit the list. You can access the article here.