Court of Appeal rejects ARA bid to block Sonko from accessing millions in his accounts

The Court of Appeal has declined the Assets Recovery Agency’s (ARA) attempt to prevent former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko from accessing over Ksh.500 million in his bank accounts.

The Assets Recovery Agency had sought a stay of the October 2025 High Court decision pending the hearing and determination of an appeal it filed against a High Court ruling that allowed Sonko to access the funds which had earlier been frozen.

The High Court ruling, delivered by Justice Nixon Sifuna on October 1, 2025, found that the agency failed to provide sufficient evidence showing that Sonko’s bank accounts contained proceeds of crime. The court therefore ordered that the funds be released.

In his October ruling, Justice Sifuna stated: “The evidence so far on record is insufficient to support the assertion that the funds flagged by the Applicant, which are the subject of these proceedings and are in various of the Respondent’s bank accounts, are proceeds of crime. There is therefore no legal basis for ordering forfeiture of the said funds to the Kenya Government.”

He further added: “Those funds, which were preserved by interlocutory preservation orders issued on 6th February 2020, are hereby discharged. Consequently, it is hereby ordered that the said funds be released forthwith to the Respondent, unless otherwise lawfully held for any other lawful purpose.”

The Court of Appeal’s refusal to grant the stay means the High Court order remains in effect, allowing Sonko to access the funds.

The dispute concerns money previously frozen during ARA investigations under the Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Act (POCAMLA). With the appellate court stepping aside for now, the funds remain unfrozen unless a future ruling during the substantive appeal changes the situation.