Data a powerful weapon in financial crimes fight

At the recent Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Summit, I had the privilege of joining fellow panellists to discuss how strategic data exchange is transforming public finance.

The conversation reaffirmed a lesson I have learned throughout my years in tax administration, that the future of effective revenue management depends on how well institutions connect, share information responsibly, and use data to build trust, protect revenue, and strengthen governance.

Across the world, governments are reimagining governance through data. When used strategically, data helps institutions anticipate risks, enhance transparency, and promote fairness.

For tax administrations, it has become the most powerful weapon against evasion, illicit trade, and financial crime. The shift toward data-driven governance is transforming how countries safeguard revenue.

When agencies share information securely and in real time, they create a single, accurate view of economic activity, closing compliance gaps and deterring fraud. But when institutions operate in silos, inefficiencies thrive and opportunities for manipulation multiply.

Kenya is firmly part of this transformation. Through deliberate investment in digital infrastructure and inter-agency collaboration, the KRA is demonstrating how data sharing can protect national revenue while upholding citizens’ rights.

Every data-sharing arrangement is guided by Kenya’s Data Protection Act and subjected to a rigorous risk-benefit analysis.

This ensures that the sensitivity of the data, potential vulnerabilities, and the intended public good are carefully weighed. Strong governance structures reinforce these safeguards while each agreement defines roles, responsibilities, and oversight mechanisms, supported by audit trails and reporting obligations.

These are not bureaucratic formalities but rather, strategic instruments for preserving institutional integrity and public confidence.
Kenya’s Medium-Term Revenue Strategy places inter-agency data sharing at the heart of modern revenue administration, and KRA’s results speak for themselves.

Integration with government agencies such as the Registrar of Persons and the Business Registration Service have enabled real-time verification of taxpayer identities and early detection of shell companies.

Linkages with the National Transport and Safety Authority and eCitizen platforms have enabled automated checks across business registrations, vehicle ownership, and declared income; providing a unified compliance picture that deters evasion.

In the excise sector, KRA’s collaboration with relevant law enforcement agencies has transformed monitoring of excisable goods, with digital tax stamps allowing real-time tracking of alcohol and tobacco products, reducing illicit trade and under-declaration.

Likewise, collaboration in the betting and gaming sector has enhanced oversight of betting transactions and verification of declared revenues. These integrations have improved compliance, sealed revenue leaks, and strengthened anti-money laundering controls.

KRA’s next frontier is to convert shared data into predictive intelligence through analytics and artificial intelligence to detect anomalies such as unexplained wealth, sudden income spikes, or mismatched value-added tax claims before they evolve into non-compliance.

Achieving this will require interoperability and common data standards to ensure that government systems communicate efficiently. Such seamless integration will significantly reduce friction for compliant taxpayers while raising the cost of evasion for bad actors.

Strategic data sharing is, therefore, a governance philosophy, reflecting Kenya’s broader commitment to transparency, accountability, and equity in public finance.

For the KRA, the goal is not surveillance but service; to use data responsibly to build a fairer, more efficient tax system where compliance is easy, evasion is difficult, and trust is strengthened.

Doreen Mbingi is the Acting Commissioner, Large and Medium Taxpayers at the Kenya Revenue Authority