NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenyan man arrested over viral video of him tearing 100-shilling notes, police say on March 10
Detectives from the Kenyan Banking Fraud Investigations Unit (BFIU), a specialized branch of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, tracked down and apprehended the suspect at his residence on Tuesday after the clip of him destroying the money was shared widely on social media platforms.
The man was identified by police as Maximilian Motara. In the widely shared video, he is seen ripping up several hundred Kenyan Shilling notes while recording himself and then uploading the video to the social media site TikTok.
Police stated the arrest was made following public outcry and subsequent intervention by financial crime investigators who noted the suspect was mutilating Kenyan currency. He is being held pending court appearance.
Under the Kenyan Penal Code, it is illegal to tear, cut, deface, or mutilate any currency note. According to Section 367A of the Kenyan constitution’s Penal Code, a person convicted for mutilating any currency note will be liable to a fine not exceeding 2,000 Kenya Shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both.
The aim of the law, according to officials, is to preserve the integrity of the national currency while curbing extra costs to the government which result from the need to replace defaced notes.
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) officials have on multiple occasions expressed their discontent with currency misuse, such as stapling, gluing, tearing or using currency as decorations during celebrations.
Officials are concerned the habit could cause notes to be removed from circulation, affecting cash processing machinery like ATMs.
