In February, ISLP, in collaboration with the Law Society of Kenya and The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and with support of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, hosted the Understanding Financial and Economic Crimes Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was tailored for legal professionals to further develop the necessary tools to combat financial and economic crime that has been on the rise in the country.

Although the investigation and prosecution of financial and economic crimes has increased in Kenya in recent years, various agencies have expressed the need to enhance technical capacity of the officers involved in these investigations. It must be noted that Kenyan professionals in legal practice and law enforcement are well trained for their line of work. However, investigations on economic crimes is an increasingly sophisticated field that is constantly evolving. That said, asset tracing and recovery, one of the most pertinent approaches in anti-corruption efforts worldwide, has been flagged by Kenya as a crucial step in curbing the tide of public sector corruption. The know-how and techniques involved need to be continuously revisited and updated to effectively cater to the case at hand.

Given that jurisdictions such as the U.S. and Canada have had more experience in handling such investigations,  ISLP, EACC, LSK and CFLI brought together over 50 experts on forensic investigations, anti-money laundering, asset recovery and legal compliance. Participants to the training represented various organizations and agencies including: The Canadian High Commission, The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, The Law Society of Kenya, Council for Legal Education, The Kenya Revenue Authority, The Directorate of Public Prosecutions, UNODC, The National Counterterrorism Center, The Ministry of Interior, in-house counsel from banks, several multinational corporations working in Kenya, as well as lawyers in private practice.

The goal was to create a platform for the exchange of knowledge that could catalyze change in the investigation, prosecution and recovery of assets lost through corruption in the country. Guest speaker, Cynthia DeGabrielle, member of Dentons’ White Collar and Government Investigations practice, said she was “impressed by ISLP’s perception of critical needs in a community and its ability to tailor programs that are beneficial, well-attended, and which engage the participation of attendees.” Ultimately, DeGabrielle said, “ISLP fills an important need for politically-neutral technical legal assistance in combating corruption in places where it is needed most.”

This conference was also an opportunity to create connections between experts working on these issues locally and their international counterparts. Participants heard from experts in the field, including DeGabrielle, and Irumire Okhumale, Managing Director of FTI Consulting in the Forensic & Litigation Consulting segment, and Nina Mapara, Vice President, Canada Region Counsel, at Mastercard. Mapara, who found the conference experience with ISLP to be “incredibly enriching and rewarding,” emphasized the excellent relationships ISLP has developed on the ground. She said “in Canada, we frequently look beyond our borders to understand legal developments in other parts of the world.  It was a pleasure to share this outside in thinking on investigations, prosecution strategy and in-house perspectives on ethics, anti-corruption and governance with our Kenyan counterparts.” Irumire Okhumale echoed similar sentiments. Highlighting the struggle African countries face with regard to capacity building surrounding forensic investigation and asset recovery, Okhumale said the conference was “timely and helpful.” The ISLP platform itself, is not the typical “cut and paste approach” that he has seen in other conferences. Rather, ISLP is helping to close that gap to actually provide value to participants. The core strength of the ISLP program according to Okhumale is “being able to tap into the professional network [comprised of] actual practitioners with [experiential] knowledge in these areas . . . because none of [them] were professors so [they] [were] not discussing theoretical frameworks, [they] were discussing things [they] [had] used in the past.”

About our Guest Speakers: 

Cynthia DeGabrielle

Cynthia is a member of Dentons‘ White Collar and Government Investigations practice. With 23 years’ tenure as an Assistant United States Attorney, Cynthia has extensive experience handling complex financial investigations, international money laundering, and public corruption, both foreign and domestic.

Irumire Okhumale

Irumire is a Managing Director at FTI Consulting in the Forensic & Litigation Consulting segment. For more than a decade, Mr. Okhumale has advised both domestic and international clients on matters relating to anti-corruption, forensic accounting, data analytics, dispute resolution, and litigation support.

Nina Mapara

Nina is the Vice President, Canada Region Counsel for Mastercard, responsible for all legal matters in Canada. Nina joined Mastercard in 2015. Prior to joining Mastercard, Nina was Senior Legal Counsel and AVP, Legal at Capital One Canada and Mackenzie Financial.

About the International Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP)

ISLP provides pro bono legal assistance to governments and civil society organizations in developing countries, leveraging global legal resources in alignment with client needs to support just, accountable, and inclusive development.

About the Law Society of Kenya:

The Law Society of Kenya is the premier bar association for lawyers working in Kenya. It has the mandate to advise and assist members of the legal profession, the government and the larger public in all matters relating to the administration of justice in Kenya.

About the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission

The EACC is a government body charged with the enforcement of Kenya’s laws on corruption and economic crime. It works to combat and prevent corruption, economic crime and unethical conduct in Kenya through law enforcement, prevention, public education, promotion of standards and practices of integrity, ethics and anti-corruption.