Can the State take property bought with corruption money?
Constitution of Kenya; Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act · sources read 4 Oct 2026
Yes, through the courts. The constitutional right to property does not cover property found to have been unlawfully acquired, and the High Court can freeze property suspected to come from corruption and order the owner to pay the Government the value of assets they cannot explain.
- Where
- Reports: EACC, Integrity Centre, Valley Road/Milimani Road junction, Nairobi, regional offices, or 020 2717468. Cases are decided by the High Court.
Steps
- If you suspect someone holds wealth from corruption, report it to the EACC in writing, by phone or in person at Integrity Centre, Nairobi, or a regional office.
- You can report anonymously through the whistleblower system on the EACC website.
- If the EACC is looking into your assets, it must first give you a reasonable chance to explain the gap between your assets and your legitimate income before going to court.
- In court, you can show with evidence that the assets were not acquired through corrupt conduct.
- The Assets Recovery Agency can first ask the High Court, without notice to the owner, for a preservation order freezing property it believes was used for a crime or is proceeds of crime.
- While the preservation order is in force, the Agency applies to the High Court for a forfeiture order handing the property to the Government.
Watch out
- The High Court can freeze the property (stop any sale or transfer) on the EACC's application without first hearing the owner.
- The court's order is to pay the Government an amount equal to the value of the assets not shown to be clean.
- Civil forfeiture does not depend on a criminal conviction: the case is civil, decided on a balance of probabilities, and the order stands whatever happens in any criminal case.
- A preservation order lapses 90 days after it is published in the Gazette unless a forfeiture application is pending or it is set aside earlier.
- An innocent owner or buyer can apply to the High Court to protect or exclude their interest, by showing they were not involved in the offence and acquired it for fair value without knowing or suspecting it was tainted.
Who this covers
- People whose assets, gained around the time they were reasonably suspected of corruption or economic crime, are far more than their known income, with no satisfactory explanation.
- Property that the High Court finds, on a balance of probabilities, was used or meant for a crime or is proceeds of crime can be forfeited to the Government by the Assets Recovery Agency, in civil proceedings.
Official sources (4)
- Constitution of Kenya, 2010 new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (No. 3 of 2003) new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Report Corruption eacc.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act, No. 9 of 2009 (Cap. 59A) new.kenyalaw.org · read 4 Oct 2026