This archive report was first published on 13 August 2021.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has revealed that the Kenyan government deported Turkish national Harun Aydin on August 9, 2021, due to suspected money-laundering links and frequent movements in and out of the country.
Appearing before the National Assembly's Departmental Committee on Administration and National Security on August 13, 2021, Matiang'i stated that an analysis of Aydin's frequent movements into and out of the country indicated he had close links with foreigners involved in money-laundering.
According to the minister, Aydin applied for an investor's work permit Class G on November 24, 2020, and received the permit on June 25, 2021, allowing him to run Unit 2HA Investment Energy Africa Limited, a firm dealing in energy-related business.
However, Matiang'i said a subsequent examination of Aydin's work permit documents indicated he was yet to receive formal contracts that would allow him to operate uninterrupted.
He provided the immigration department with a contract stating that he was allowed to work in the energy sector in Kenya, but it was discovered that he presented a dummy contract, not the genuine approval.
When questioned about Aydin's movements, Matiang'i said that the government monitored his frequent trips into and outside Kenya and discovered that he was moving around a lot, visiting countries such as Goma, Sudan, Zanzibar, and Entebbe.
The CS said the Kenyan government liaised with security agencies in the countries that Aydin visited and established an alleged link to money-laundering.
He stated that Kenya and the nations Aydin visited signed a security and intelligence information sharing agreement that allows the foreign countries to flag a person from Kenya who is breaching laws in those countries.
Deputy President William Ruto had earlier defended Aydin, saying he was being unfairly targeted by the Kenyan government over links to him.
However, after Aydin's deportation, Ruto apologized to Aydin on behalf of the government, stating that he was politically arrested, tortured, and falsely profiled as a 'terrorist', but later asked to fly out not to shame those involved.
