Two employees of Kenya Airways have been held in detention in the Democratic Republic of Congo for nine days on suspicion of attempting to export nearly eight million dollars on behalf of a Congolese bank to the United States without the required documentation. The Kenyan airline expressed surprise at their arrest and is demanding the release of its employees.
The eight million dollars, stored at the Ndjili International Airport in Kinshasa for several days, consists of banknotes unsuitable for circulation due to their worn-out condition or serial numbers, according to Trust Merchant Bank.
Packed in crates, these banknotes were supposed to be shipped to the Federal Reserve in New York on April 12th but were intercepted by airport security services.
What the bank presented as a routine operation in banking operations seemed suspicious to the Congolese military intelligence service. As a result, they arrested two individuals a week later: a Congolese cargo chief of the airline and a Kenyan station manager.
Kenya Airways acknowledged refusing to transport the cargo as the bank did not provide complete documentation, a fact that the intelligence service has struggled to accept.
A Kenyan embassy official in Kinshasa and a company executive were only allowed to briefly meet the two detainees four days after their arrest. The Kenyan employee was only granted a change of clothes yesterday, according to her relatives.
The military prosecutor in Kinshasa has demanded since Thursday that the two employees be made available to the justice system. However, the military intelligence service has yet to comply with this request.
The situation highlights the diplomatic tensions and legal complexities surrounding the detention of the Kenya Airways employees in Congo. The airline is advocating for the swift resolution of the matter, emphasizing the innocence of its staff members and the need for a fair and transparent legal process. The case is being closely monitored by both Kenyan and Congolese authorities as investigations continue into the alleged money export attempt.
