The Anti-Terrorism Police Unit has been allowed to continue holding five people, among them a Canadian, suspected to have aided the terrorists who attacked 14 Riverside office complex in Nairobi where 21 people died.
Intelligence reports heard in a Nairobi court have revealed a syndicate of money meant to fund terrorism across borders with the hotspot in Kenya.
Through a series of investigations , police intelligence discovered money whose origin is suspected to have come from south Africa , received in Kenya by Hassan and after few calls the money would later be sent to Somalia.
Police are investigating the nature of the calls made to establish the senders of the money and the recievers and information contained that could lead to arrest of more suspects.
After receiving the huge amounts of money from South Africa, Hassan Abdi Nur, would later withdraw the money through a specific till number.
Police suspect the money withdrawn was to cut the links and use a different channel to avoid tracing by detectives.A reason that would explain the numerous mpesa bank accounts.
Abdi, who operates an M-Pesa business, is said to have registered 52 accounts out of which 47 were listed in October, November and December last year.
Ismael Sadiq Abitham, on the other hand, was a social media representative at Horizon TV station, and was said to be in constant communication with attack ring leader Ali Salim Gichunge and his wife Violet Kemunto.
Ali Khamisi Ali was arrested on Tuesday and was said to have several contacts in Somalia believed to be of Al Shabab sympathisers. Together with Ismael Sadiq Abitham, they were also alleged to have been in communication Gichunge and Kemunto.
Abdi, Maalim, Ismael Sadiq Abitham, Ali Khamisi Ali, Abdulalahi Muhumed Hassan and Sophia Njoki Mbogo were arraigned before Senior Principal Magistrate Martha Mutuku.
Maalim was arrested on January 22, 2019. His mobile phone was seized and has been subjected to forensic examination revealing the money transactions.
The affidavit reads that Abdi received Sh9 million from South Africa and the same was withdrawn through M-Pesa and later through Diamond Trust Bank Eastleigh Branch.
Police suspect the money was for financing terrorism.
Abdi is said to have registered 47 Sim Cards using different identity cards and names. The Sim Cards were all used in two handsets which were all geo-located within Eastleigh area, Nairobi.
Kenyan police have numerously been on the spot for money laundering from Sudan but remained quite even as international bodies have raised concern
Were some people sleeping on the job?