The challenge comes as the government enhances efforts to demonstrate it has strengthened its ability to detect, investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
However, new reports are highlighting the growing use of mobile money, bank transfers and cryptocurrency by fraudsters.
On Monday, Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga brought together senior officials from key law enforcement and financial crime agencies to review Kenya's progress towards exiting the Financial Action Task Force grey list.
The meeting brought together the Financial Reporting Centre, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Assets Recovery Agency and the Kenya Revenue Authority.
The agencies reviewed preliminary comments from the Africa Joint Group on Kenya's progress report and discussed areas requiring further action as Kenya prepares for the next stages of the international assessment process.
However, the push comes against worrying data from the National Computer and Cybercrimes Coordination Committee (NC4), which shows mobile money featured in 51 of 102 computer fraud cases reviewed between February and July 2026. This means the cash was either used as a payment method or the destination for illicit funds.
The figures highlight the growing challenge facing Kenyan authorities as financial crime moves deeper into the digital economy.
According to the report released on Monday, mobile money fraud was the largest individual fraud category, accounting for 19 of the 102 cases, a 18.6 per cent representation.
Investment and foreign exchange schemes followed with 16 cases, while cryptocurrency-related scams accounted for 12.
Bank transfers were linked to another 22 cases, representing 21.6 per cent of the cases reviewed, while cryptocurrency payments accounted for 11.8 per cent.
Criminals are increasingly exploiting the same fast, convenient financial infrastructure that has made Kenya a leader in digital payments, the report shows.
The findings by NC4 reflect an Interpol assessment released this month that highlighted Kenya's growing exposure to cyber-enabled financial crime, including a sharp rise in SIM-swap fraud.
Interpol's African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026 said SIM-swap fraud increased by 327 per cent in 2025, with more than 123,000 fraudulent SIM cards issued and an estimated $3.8 million (Sh491 million) drained from mobile wallets.
Kenya also recorded more than 46,786 distributed denial-of-service attacks targeting telecommunications infrastructure in the first half of 2025, while the Communications Authority reported hundreds of millions of intrusion attempts against government and ICT infrastructure between July and September 2025.
The reports show investigators, prosecutors and financial intelligence agencies are facing a huge challenge in following the money trail as criminals move it rapidly between mobile wallets, bank accounts and cryptocurrency platforms.
Kenya was placed under FATF increased monitoring in February 2024 after the watchdog identified strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework.
The June 2026 FATF update retained Kenya on the grey list.
The FATF's outstanding actions include improving risk-based supervision of financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and increasing suspicious transaction reporting.
Other concerns were strengthening beneficial ownership information, improving the use and quality of financial intelligence, and increasing money-laundering investigations and prosecutions in line with the country's risks.
According to FATF, Kenya needs to demonstrate its systems are being used effectively to identify suspicious transactions, generate financial intelligence, investigate money laundering and secure prosecutions.
Following the Monday meeting, a statement by the ODPP said the agencies will strengthen intelligence sharing and operational coordination and work on implementing the remaining actions under Kenya's FATF action plan.
The meeting also reviewed preparations for the forthcoming Africa Joint Group assessment.
While mobile money and digital banking have expanded financial inclusion and made transactions faster, they have also created new channels through which criminal proceeds can be moved quickly.
Cryptocurrency adds another layer of complexity, particularly where transactions cross borders and criminals exploit gaps between jurisdictions.
According to the NC4 data, of the 102 cases reviewed, 70 were recorded between May and July, suggesting that reported computer fraud increased sharply.
The committee has consequently called for closer monitoring of high-risk mobile-money transactions, faster preservation of digital evidence and stronger coordination with telecommunications companies.
