This archive report was first published on 6 September 2019.
As the September 30 deadline for exchanging old Sh1,000 notes approaches, Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge has warned that those holding illicit cash will find it impossible to bring it back into the financial system.
According to Governor Njoroge, banks have collected more than 100 million pieces out of the 217 million pieces that were in circulation when the demonetisation was announced in June.
With less than a month to go, the public has been urged to return the remaining 117 million pieces of old notes to avoid them becoming obsolete.
"We expect to collect more notes as the deadline nears because most people like doing things the last minute," Governor Njoroge said.
He also revealed that detectives at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are probing cases of suspicious cash transactions that have been flagged by banks during the ongoing demonetisation exercise.
Some of these cases involve individuals who attempted to change more than Sh5 million to new currency notes.
"Those notes will be mere papers come October 1. We have enough new notes in circulation," Governor Njoroge added.
