This archive report was first published on 4 October 2021.
On October 4, 2021, the International Council of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released the Pandora Papers, a massive leak of financial records from offshore tax havens.
The documents, sourced from Panamanian law firm Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee (Alcogal), reveal that President Uhuru Kenyatta and his relatives have kept more than $30 million (Ksh3.3 Billion) stashed in tax havens and acquired assets including houses in London.
The Kenyatta family owns at least seven shell companies and foundations, two registered anonymously in Panama and five in the British Virgin Islands.
One of the companies had a bank account that held an investment portfolio worth $31.6 million in 2016, while another was used to buy a London home in the Westminster area, valued at over $1 million.
The house was rented by an English member of parliament, Emma Hardy, until July.
Union Bancaire Privée, a Swiss private bank, referred to the Kenyattas in its records as Client 13173.
The offshore assets are believed to be a large contributor to the family's vast fortune, with Forbes placing the Kenyattas' net worth at $500 million in 2011, ranking President Uhuru Kenyatta the 26th wealthiest man in Africa at the time.
The Kenyatta family owns massive land holdings in Kenya as well as interests in dairy and agriculture, construction, banking, media, and more.
ICIJ Director Gerard Ryle stated, 'I guess it mostly demonstrates that the people that could end the secrecy of offshore, could end what's going on, are themselves benefiting from it…We're looking at trillions of dollars.'
