Kenya has been ranked fourth in Africa for organised crime and money laundering, according to the 2025 ENACT Africa Organised Crime Index, showing the country’s growing exposure to illicit financial flows, drug trafficking, and cyber-enabled fraud.

The report places Kenya behind only the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7.47), South Africa (7.43), and Nigeria (7.32), with a criminality score of 7.18 out of 10.

Libya rounds out the top five. Kenya also ranks first in East Africa, reflecting its dual role as a regional economic hub and a high-value transit and laundering corridor for organised criminal networks.

Financial crimes, popularly known as “wash wash” deals, alongside heroin trafficking, cybercrime, and human trafficking, were identified as the country’s most dominant criminal markets.

Kenya scored 8 out of 10 in both cybercrime and financial crimes, showing the sophistication and scale of illicit activity enabled by digital platforms and cross-border networks.

The ENACT report shows Kenya’s criminality score rising sharply from 6.14 in 2019 to 7.18 in 2025, mirroring a continent-wide trend where Africa’s average criminality score increased to 5.11 out of 10.

Financial crimes were identified as the fastest-growing illicit market, with state actors implicated in 48% of severely affected countries.

“The most pervasive criminal markets are financial crimes, human trafficking, non-renewable resource crimes, the trade in counterfeit goods, and arms trafficking,” the report noted.

State-embedded actors were singled out as the most influential criminal players across the continent, facilitating money laundering and fraud in Kenya.

Despite a resilience score of 5.17, the highest in East Africa, the Index warns that Kenya’s resilience has weakened due to governance gaps, corruption scandals, and leadership failures.

Public frustration has been fuelled by high-profile cases such as the Shakahola tragedy and concerns about institutional accountability.

Regionally, East Africa stands out for human trafficking, arms trafficking, and human smuggling, West Africa for cocaine flows, Central Africa for non-renewable resource crimes, North Africa for financial crimes and cannabis trade, and Southern Africa for wildlife trafficking.

Kenya’s strategic geography and economic position continue to place it at the centre of regional and international criminal networks.