Pirates blamed for Kenya property boom
NAIROBI, Kenya — Property prices in Nairobi are soaring, and Somali pirates are getting the blame.
The hike in real estate prices in the Kenyan capital has prompted a public outcry and a government investigation this month into property owned by foreigners. The investigation follows allegations that millions of dollars in ransom money paid to Somali pirates are being invested in Kenya, Somalia’s southern neighbor and East Africa’s largest economy.
Even as housing prices have dropped sharply in the United States, prices in Nairobi have seen two- and three-fold increases the last half decade.
“There is suspicion that some of the money that is being collected in piracy is being laundered by purchase of property in several countries, this one being one of them,” said government spokesman Alfred Mutua. “Especially at this time when we are facing global challenges of security such as terrorism and others, it is very important for us to know who is where and who owns what.”
The investigation also will help the government catch tax evaders, he said.
Housing market in Kenya
Kenya may be the most attractive spot for pirates to launder their money because it shares a roughly 500-mile (800-kilometer) border with Somalia and has investment opportunities and a large Somali community of up to 200,000 people, Mutua said.
In a neighborhood of Nairobi now called “Little Mogadishu” because of its Somali community, large business and apartment buildings have sprung up. A similar explosion of real estate development can be seen in higher-income areas of the city.
Somali pirates have been paid more than $100 million in ransoms the last two years, said Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think tank Chatham House. The average ransom also is up, from $1 million per vessel a year ago to about $2 million today.
Pirates in Somalia say they invest their ransom money outside their war-torn country, including in Kenya. One pirate who gave his name as Osman Afrah said he bought three trucks that transport goods across East Africa.
Related Posts 
-
Kids Say the Darndest Things v2 [/caption] From the Humor Files: Kids Say the Darndest Thing A kindergarten student told his teacher he'd found a cat,... -
Senate healthcare bill set to pass by Christmas By Noam N. Levey and Janet Hook Democrats' compromise on abortion with Nebraska's Ben Nelson gives them the 60 votes... -
Times Square probe yield 3 arrests [/caption] WATERTOWN, Mass. – Federal agents conducted Thursday morning raids in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey in connection with... -
NBC facing long road back after Conan drama [/caption] LOS ANGELES, Jan 22 (Reuters) - NBC may have put a public relations nightmare behind it with the departure... -
Jobless rate falls to 9.7 percent in January [/caption] The unemployment rate in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped to 9.7 percent in January, indicating the labor market may be...
-
Major League Baseball Stole My Money... As some of my regular readers know, I'm a huge Red Sox fan (which hasn't been easy this past week),... -
Real Estate Investments - Good Idea or Bad Idea? Right now, if there was a market that had bad news written all over it, it would be real estate.... -
Introduction to Brokerage Accounts What is a brokerage account, and how can it benefit me? In many cases, the first step to building an... - Buying Properties At A 60% Discount There are still a lot of investors looking to get into real estate. Some of them are newbies looking for...
- Damon Vrabel – Monopoly Money and the International Banking Cartel The sooner people understand what it is Damon is saying here - WHO is in control of our money -...
