NAIROBI, Kenya — The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has called for stronger regional and international cooperation to combat the growing threat of cryptocurrency-related financial crimes, warning that digital assets are increasingly being exploited by transnational criminal networks.
The call was made on Monday by Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Vincent Monda, who represented Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga at the opening of a five-day Joint Workshop on Cryptocurrencies in International Financial Investigations in Nairobi.
The workshop brings together the East Africa Association of Prosecutors (EAAP), the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) and the European Union Action Against Organized Crime and Terrorism (EU-ACT).
In his opening remarks, Monda welcomed participants from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Ethiopia, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Mozambique and Seychelles, describing regional collaboration as critical in tackling cross-border financial crimes.
He said the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets has transformed the global financial landscape by creating opportunities for innovation while also providing sophisticated channels for money laundering, terrorism financing, drug trafficking, cybercrime, fraud and other forms of organised crime.
Monda observed that the borderless and anonymous nature of virtual assets has made financial investigations increasingly complex, requiring prosecutors and investigators to continuously strengthen their technical expertise and investigative capabilities.
He stressed that no single country or institution can effectively address the evolving threat alone and called for enhanced information sharing, coordinated investigations and stronger legal cooperation across jurisdictions.
“The workshop demonstrates our shared commitment to strengthening legal and investigative frameworks capable of responding to the evolving challenges posed by financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies,” he said.
Monda encouraged participants to exchange experiences, share best practices, and build professional networks that will facilitate future cross-border investigations.
He reaffirmed the ODPP’s commitment to working with regional and international partners to strengthen the rule of law and safeguard the integrity of financial systems.
European Union Delegation to Kenya representative Louis Dey underscored the importance of close collaboration between prosecutors and investigators, saying effective responses to complex cross-border financial crimes depend on coordinated action.
He noted that cryptocurrencies and digital assets have become significant enablers of organised crime, including online fraud, drug trafficking and money laundering, with illicit financial flows amounting to tens of billions of euros annually.
EAPCCO Chief Executive Officer and Head of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau for East Africa, Apollo S. Africa, said the workshop marks an important step in strengthening regional capacity to investigate emerging forms of organised crime.
He emphasised that successful investigations must produce credible and admissible evidence capable of securing convictions and facilitating the recovery of criminal assets.
The five-day programme will equip prosecutors and investigators with practical skills in blockchain technology, cryptocurrency investigations, cybercrime, electronic evidence, judicial cooperation, open-source intelligence, dark web investigations and cross-border access to electronic evidence. Participants will also analyse real-life case studies to strengthen regional capacity to investigate and prosecute financial crimes in the digital age.