Kenya recruits 45,000 foreigners for the Russian army, according to Le Point
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Beto
A year after DR Congo left the FATF grey list, Congolese banks are struggling to turn that recognition into lasting correspondent banking relationships abroad, according to Beto. The country had been under scrutiny since 2022 for its shortcomings in the fight against money laundering.
Some 45,000 foreigners, including Kenyans, have been recruited to serve in the Russian army, according to the French weekly Le Point, which devotes an investigation to the recruitment networks operating in Nairobi. Kenya is presented there as the leading African supplier of fighters for the Russian troops engaged in Ukraine.
According to Le Point, recruits leave on the strength of job promises published by agencies, before being enlisted on arrival in Russia and deployed in the occupied Donbass, without receiving the advertised salaries. Several Kenyan officials — MPs, ministers, police officers and magistrates — are suspected of being involved in these networks.
The investigation comes after the measures announced by Moscow on 30 October: Russia banned the recruitment of Kenyans into its army and pledged to compensate Kenyans already enlisted.
