State Unveils New Plan to Track Some Transactions in Crackdown on Wash Wash

Jukwaa

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The move comes after the enactment of the Virtual Assets Service Providers Act, 2025, which gives the CMA the mandate to regulate virtual asset exchanges, brokers, asset managers, investment advisers and other licensed players operating in the country's digital assets market.

According to tender documents seen by this publication, the regulator wants a system capable of tracking blockchain transactions and screening wallets against sanctions lists.

At the same time, the system will be able to detect fraud and support investigations into suspicious cryptocurrency activities.

📌 What You Need to Know

The platform will also enable the CMA to conduct real-time anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) screening, helping identify high-risk transactions before they escalate into larger financial crimes.

"The overall objective of the assignment is to supply, implement, integrate, operationalize and maintain a secure, scalable and fit-for-purpose Virtual Assets Blockchain Analytics System to enhance CMA's capacity to monitor, analyse, investigate and respond to risks associated with virtual assets and virtual asset service providers," the authority said in the tender documents.

The regulator says the rapid growth of virtual assets and blockchain-based financial services has created new investment opportunities but has also exposed the market to significant risks.

Among the concerns raised by the CMA are money laundering, terrorism financing, fraud, market manipulation, sanctions evasion, tax evasion, and cyber-enabled scams.

All these, the it says could aid cross-border illicit financial flows that could undermine market integrity and investor confidence.

To address these risks, the proposed system will provide end-to-end visibility into blockchain transactions, digital wallets and virtual asset ecosystems.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke

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