POCAMLA 2025 and Kenya Property Transactions: The New Obligations Every Professional Must Know
Kenya's property sector crossed a significant compliance threshold in June 2025. The Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Act 2025 (POCAMLA 2025) was signed into law on 20 June 2025, formalising at statute level the anti-money laundering obligations that the property sector had previously addressed only through guidelines.
This article explains what changed, who is affected, and what property professionals must now do.
Background: Kenya's FATF Grey-Listing
To understand POCAMLA 2025, you need to understand why it was passed.
In February 2024, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Kenya on its grey list. The grey list identifies countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) frameworks.
One of the specific concerns FATF identified was Kenya's treatment of Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs). DNFBPs include lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, notaries, and dealers in high-value goods. These professions are known to be used as channels for money laundering, particularly through real estate transactions.
Kenya's response included:
The LSK AML/CFT/CPF Guidelines 2025, issued by the Law Society of Kenya, imposing detailed compliance obligations on Kenya advocates handling real estate.
POCAMLA 2025, which elevated DNFBP obligations from guidelines to statute.
The Financial Reporting Centre (FRC) increasing enforcement activity, with penalties of KES 200,000 to 250,000 being issued to non-compliant firms from early 2026.
Who POCAMLA 2025 Covers
Under POCAMLA 2025, the following categories are formally designated as reporting entities with AML/CFT obligations:
Advocates and law firms that handle conveyancing, property transfers, or other real estate transactions on behalf of clients.
Real estate agents and brokers involved in buying, selling, or leasing property.
Developers and project managers who receive funds from clients for property construction or purchase.
Accountants who manage real estate funds or transactions.
Any professional in these categories who handles property transactions in Kenya is now legally required to maintain AML/CFT compliance programmes. Non-compliance is no longer a regulatory risk managed through guidelines. It is a statutory offence.
Core Obligations Under POCAMLA 2025
Customer Due Diligence (CDD)
Every property professional must conduct CDD on their clients before engaging in a transaction. CDD means:
Verifying the identity of the client (individual or corporate).
Identifying the beneficial owner behind any corporate client.
Assessing the source of funds and, where relevant, the source of wealth.
Ongoing monitoring of the business relationship for unusual patterns.
Enhanced due diligence (EDD) is required for politically exposed persons (PEPs), high-risk jurisdictions, or unusual transactions.
Property-Specific Obligations
For real estate transactions specifically, POCAMLA 2025 reinforces obligations that were in the LSK Guidelines: verification that the property being sold legitimately belongs to the stated owner, and that the transaction funds are from a legitimate source.
This means advocates cannot treat a title deed and a client's stated instructions as sufficient due diligence. They must independently verify ownership through means that go beyond a standard title search.
Record-Keeping
All due diligence records must be maintained for a minimum of seven years. This includes client identification documents, verification records, and transaction documentation.
Suspicious Transaction Reporting
Any property professional who has reasonable grounds to suspect a transaction involves proceeds of crime or terrorism financing must file a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) with the Financial Reporting Centre.
What This Means for Property Advocates in Practice
For advocates handling conveyancing, POCAMLA 2025 has four direct operational implications.
First, your standard of title verification has changed. The combined effect of Sehmi v Tarabana [2025] KESC 21, Dina Management [2023] KESC 30, and POCAMLA 2025 is that advocates must now trace root of title and independently verify ownership, not merely confirm the current registration. "We ran an official search" is not sufficient.
Second, you must document your CDD and verification process. Not just the outcome, but the process: who you checked, how you checked them, what you found. This documentation goes in the matter file and must be kept for seven years.
Third, you must train your staff. POCAMLA 2025 imposes obligations on the firm, not just the principal advocate. Any staff involved in property transactions must understand the CDD obligations and know when to escalate.
Fourth, the FRC is enforcing. By early 2026, the FRC was issuing penalty notices of KES 200,000 to 250,000 per non-compliant firm. The days of DNFBP compliance being a guidelines-based suggestion are over.
The March 2026 Compliance Deadline
The FRC set a March 2026 compliance deadline for DNFBP registration and initial programme implementation. Firms that had not registered with the FRC as reporting entities and implemented their AML/CFT programmes by that date were being flagged for examination.
If your firm has not yet registered with the FRC as a DNFBP reporting entity, this is now an urgent matter.
How Litmus Supports Post-POCAMLA Compliance
Property advocates using Litmus can incorporate the Litmus verification report into their matter file as documented evidence of independent ownership verification.
The Litmus report includes:
A physical registry file review (root of title, not just current registration).
A court process search.
A gazette notice check.
A named verifier's signature on all findings.
This is the documented, independent verification that POCAMLA 2025 and the post-Sehmi standard require. The combination of a Litmus report and the advocate's own CDD record creates a compliance-ready matter file.
For high-value or complex transactions, the Litmus report can also serve as part of the EDD documentation the FRC may request during an examination.
Litmus institutional pricing is available for law firms handling regular volumes. Contact us to discuss a firm-level arrangement.
Standard verification: KSh 21,500. Full field verification: KSh 25,500.
This article is for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice. For POCAMLA compliance advice specific to your firm, consult a Kenya advocate specialising in financial crime compliance.
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