Kenya–US law enforcement cooperation: Implications for multinational companies doing business in Kenya

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Co-Deputy Director Andrew Bailey’s recent meetings with Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in Nairobi signal increased law enforcement relations between the US and Kenya, including expanded engagement in combating corruption, money laundering, illicit financial flows, cybercrime, and other transnational crimes. 

Multinational companies with Kenyan counterparties, financial relationships, local assets, or participation in public tenders in Kenya are encouraged to review and, where appropriate, strengthen their compliance systems and controls to ensure compliance with both Kenyan and US laws prohibiting financial crimes.

Our alert discusses the scope and key considerations for multinational companies. 

FBI leadership visit highlights expanding cooperation

The DCI, the primary agency within Kenya’s police service responsible for investigating money laundering, terrorism, economic crimes, human trafficking, cybercrime, and other serious crimes, hosted Bailey at its Nairobi headquarters on May 7, 2026. During the meeting, Bailey praised Kenya’s anti-corruption efforts and announced plans to strengthen the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Nairobi by appointing a Regional Transnational Anti-Corruption Program Manager. The role is positioned to facilitate technical support, specialized training, as well as coordination in tackling corruption and transnational crimes. The appointment is expected to provide US authorities a more direct channel for information sharing, capacity building, and investigative coordination, not only in Kenya, but in neighboring countries in East Africa.  

Bailey also met with the EACC, a statutory body responsible for combating and preventing corruption and economic crimes and promoting standards and practices of integrity and ethics. The two agencies reaffirmed the need to enhance collaboration on public corruption, economic crimes, money laundering, and illicit financial flows. The FBI stated that it would continue collaborating with the EACC on intelligence sharing, mutual legal assistance, asset tracing, technical support, and specialized training. 

A broader strategic relationship

Bailey’s visit is one of several recent high-level diplomatic engagements that have advanced the broader US–Kenya strategic relationship. In 2024, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray visited the EACC in Nairobi and reiterated the need to strengthen the partnership with EACC in combating corruption and enhancing accountability through training and acquisition of modern investigative tools. In the same year, during Kenyan President William Ruto’s state visit to the US, former President Joe Biden confirmed Kenya’s designation as a Major Non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization Ally (MNNA), making Kenya the only sub-Saharan African nation with that elevated defense relationship. 

The US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration noted that MNNA status confers several long-term privileges, including: 

• Eligibility for loans of material, supplies, or equipment for cooperative research
  
  
• The ability for Kenyan companies to bid on contracts for maintenance, repair, or overhaul of US defense equipment outside the US 
  
  
• Eligibility for funding to procure explosive detection devices and other counterterrorism research and development projects

The department also encouraged US defense companies and service providers with experience in Direct Commercial Sales and Foreign Military Sales to leverage Kenya’s MNNA designation to develop business in the Kenyan market. 

The MNNA designation followed years of cooperation on counterterrorism and intelligence sharing. In 2020, 42 Kenyan police and intelligence officers trained at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia to prepare for the first Joint Terrorism Task Force located outside the US, based in Nairobi. This close security cooperation on anti-terrorism matters has evolved over the years to collaborate on a wider range of transnational criminal enforcement matters. 

In 2024, the EACC and FBI also established a joint task force of 24 specialized officers dedicated to combating transnational corruption, money laundering, and illicit financial flows. The FBI further supported the EACC in modernizing its interview rooms and procuring digital investigation tools and software. 

Most recently, in October 2025, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) delivered infrastructure to deploy the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) software at Kenya’s National Forensic Laboratory DNA and Biology Unit. CODIS is an FBI-managed system that can help law enforcement link evidence to individuals, connect investigations, and generate leads across jurisdictions. 

The DOJ noted that the deployment of CODIS is intended to “enhance the [Kenya’s] ability to investigate terrorism and transnational crime, deny violent actors anonymity or safe havens, and facilitate timely information sharing with U.S. and regional partners.” 

Kenya’s MNNA designation, the operational relationships Kenya’s law enforcement bodies have established through various task forces with US agencies, and the practical support US authorities have provided to Kenyan agencies could lead to a sustained partnership related to security, intelligence, and law enforcement.  

Recent case illustrates cooperation on cross-border enforcement 

In September 2025, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced a superseding indictment against a Kenyan national and a Guyanese national, charging them with conspiring to divert funds from the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The alleged diversion involved the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA), a Kenyan government-run corporation, in connection with the approximately USD650 million USAID-funded KEMSA Medical Commodities Program. The DOJ noted that the Kenyan national has been arrested and is awaiting trial in Kenya.

In recent years, several Kenyan nationals have also been extradited to the US to face charges relating to an alleged multi-million-dollar business email compromise scheme, as well as US federal aid fraud cases – such as “Feed Our Future” – in which illicit funds were allegedly laundered from the US to Kenya.

Multinationals continue to face business risks

While Kenya has a well-established judiciary and law enforcement framework, businesses should remain mindful of certain risks that may arise in the course of doing business in Kenya. The US Trade Representative noted in its 2026 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers that corruption remains a barrier to doing business in Kenya, and that “U.S. firms continue to report challenges competing against foreign firms that are willing to ignore legal standards or engage in bribery and other forms of corruption.” 

In June 2025, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that prosecutors shall, among other factors, consider whether “alleged misconduct deprived specific and identifiable U.S. entities of fair access to compete and/or resulted in economic injury to specific and identifiable American companies or individuals” when deciding which Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases to prioritize. 

Non-US multinationals doing business in Kenya may face additional scrutiny from US prosecutors if they are alleged to be involved in bribery, particularly when competing with US companies for contracts. This risk may be heightened in the context of reported increases in foreign investment activity in Kenya, including by non-US companies expanding into emerging markets, as US enforcement priorities have increasingly focused on such actors.

Notably, the indictment in the KEMSA matter could indicate US authorities’ focus on healthcare fraud. The DOJ announced the prosecution of more than USD500 billion in healthcare and COVID-19 fraud schemes in the US in April 2026. Contracts for the procurement of goods and services under the recently signed USD2.5 billion Kenya–US Health Cooperation Framework could be subject to scrutiny by the DOJ, the Office of Inspector General of the Department of State, and any other US departments and agencies involved in implementing the framework.

Key takeaways

As companies in the defense, healthcare, and other sectors consider expanding their existing businesses in Kenya or operating in Kenya for the first time, they are encouraged to consider the following steps:

• Refresh risk assessments. Evaluate whether anti-bribery, anti-corruption, sanctions, anti-money laundering, counterterrorism, and third-party controls are calibrated to the current enforcement environment. An expanded FBI presence in Nairobi, including the planned anti-corruption program manager and the EACC–FBI task force, could lead to more structured cooperation on corruption and financial crime matters.
  
  
• Focus on government-facing activity. Review controls for interactions with Kenyan government officials and state-linked entities, especially involving public tenders, licenses, permits, customs, tax disputes, development funding, security-related contracts, or major infrastructure projects. Tailor approvals, gifts, hospitality controls, charitable and sponsorship review, third-party payment controls, and books-and-records procedures to Kenya-specific risks identified by the authorities in both jurisdictions.  
  
  
• Document and escalate improper demands. Maintain clear protocols for documenting requests for bribes and other improper demands. Companies may prepare to document solicitations, preserve evidence, protect employees, assess disclosure considerations, and coordinate US and Kenyan legal advice. 
  
  
• Understand the nuances of investigations led by Kenyan authorities. Legal frameworks and protocols governing document provision to prosecutors and investigators, company executive representation during investigative interviews, and legal privilege differ in Kenya from those in the US. Companies facing investigations and prosecution by both Kenyan and US authorities may wish to consult counsel with experience in representing companies in white-collar matters in both jurisdictions. 
  
  

Learn more

To find out more about the implications of the deepening US–Kenya law enforcement relationship for your organization, please contact the authors.