Customer due diligence
Identify and verify customers, and the people who own or control business customers, before or while establishing the relationship.
All regulations
Kenya / Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), with sector supervisors such as the CBK and SASRA
Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA)
POCAMLA (2009, amended several times since, most recently through the 2023 AML amendments) is the foundation of Kenya's anti-money-laundering regime. It names the reporting institutions that must know their customers, report suspicious activity to the Financial Reporting Centre, and keep records, and its regulations set out how.
Who it applies to
Industries
Key requirements
Enhanced due diligence
Apply stronger checks to higher-risk customers, including politically exposed persons and their close associates.
Suspicious-transaction reports
Report suspicious activity to the FRC promptly, and never tip off the customer.
Record keeping
Keep identification and transaction records for at least seven years after the relationship or transaction ends.
Internal controls
Appoint a reporting officer, train staff and keep written AML procedures.
How Sentinel helps
- KYC and KYB with verified evidence for every customer.
- PEP and sanctions screening, with matches routed to a reviewer.
- Exportable records of each check and decision.
Related reading
23 October 2026 · 5 min read
Kenya and the FATF grey list: what it means for onboarding
Why increased monitoring raises the bar for customer due diligence at banks, SACCOs, PSPs and fintechs, and what a defensible onboarding record looks like.
Read the article 23 October 2026 · 4 min readDeepfakes and remote onboarding: what a liveness check has to prove
Face-swap video and replay attacks are now cheap. What institutions should expect from liveness and document checks, and why the record matters as much as the result.
Read the articleGeneral information, not legal advice. Last reviewed October 2026. Requirements change, so confirm the current position with the regulator or your counsel before relying on it.