Worldcoin Faces DCI Inquiry, Unregistered in Kenya
The government has announced that the cryptocurrency project Worldcoin, which has gained significant popularity recently and has now halted its activities, is not officially registered as a legal entity within the country.
The government, through a combined announcement from the Interior, National Administration, and ICT ministries, revealed this information in reply to questions raised by John Mukunji, the Member of Parliament for Manyatta, during a session in the House on Wednesday.
As per the government’s statement, the overseas corporation delegated its data capture tasks to a nearby enterprise, now recognized as Sense Marketing. As a result, Sense Marketing took on the role of gathering iris information from Kenyan individuals and providing them with cryptocurrency tokens valued at approximately Ksh.7,000.
On Wednesday, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) apprehended two individuals from the Worldcoin company in Kenya. Presently, they are assisting in the investigation concerning the setup and functioning of the company.
The individuals involved are Emmanuel Otieno, reportedly holding the position of Head of Operations, and Rael Mwende, who serves as the Country Manager for the company.
“Among the foreign nationals associated with Worldcoin, is Mr. Poitr Piwowarczyk who is on record to have entered Kenya on several occasions, the last one being in June 2023 (Arrival – 11th June, 2023; Departure 25th June, 2023),” read the joint statement by Interior CS Kithure Kindiki and his ICT counterpart Eliud Owalo.
“Criminal investigations have commenced to establish the authenticity and legality of the aforesaid activities, the safety and protection of the data being harvested, and how the harvesters intend to use the data.”
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The ministries added: “As a precautionary measure, the Immigration authorities have been directed to ensure that no persons whether Kenyan or foreign nationals associated with this entity leave Kenya without the clearance of the Director of Criminal Investigations who is in charge of the ongoing investigations.”
The government also mentioned that the investigation will encompass individuals who are implicated but located in other countries, using the procedures outlined in the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) protocol.
Furthermore, it was indicated that the warnings conveyed to the citizens of Kenya via the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) were a response to the discovery that the company had not carried out any form of engagement with the public before initiating its activities within the nation.
“The Government has commenced investigations to ensure that Worldcoin complies with the data collection, storage, and sharing principles. Immediate mitigation steps being undertaken are the constitution of a multi-agency team comprising security, financial services, and data protection agencies [which] have commenced inquiries and investigations to establish the legality of the activities of Worldcoin, the safety and the protection of data collected to safeguard personal data and mitigate against any adverse practices,” noted the statement.
“The Government is not aware of the source of funds. Part of the multi-agency team mandate will be to investigate the source of the money being issued to the participants and the beneficiaries of this activity.”
Worldcoin Faces DCI Inquiry, Unregistered in Kenya
