In a joint statement to the National Assembly, Kenya's Ministry of Home Affairs and Information said the Data Controller Registration Certificate issued to Worldcoin on 18 April 2023 was not a valid licence for the project to operate in the country.。As a result, the country launched a "criminal investigation" to determine the "authenticity and legality" of WorldCoin's operations in the East African country.。

WorldCoin "is not registered as a legal entity in Kenya," according to details contained in a statement posted on Facebook by Kenya's Ministry of Home Affairs and State Administration on August 3, which was signed by the two countries' cabinet secretaries.。

"An application for a certificate of registration only indicates that the entity has complied with sections 18 and 19 of the Data Protection Act 2019 and does not recognise the entity's compliance with the Act or its subsidiary regulations, nor is it a valid licence for the organised entity to operate in Kenya or an authorised entity."。The Cabinet Secretary explained.。

The information was released a day after Kenya's Home Office, which expressed concern about WorldCoin's activities in Kenya, ordered the project to be suspended.。WorldCoin, created by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, requires users to scan their iris in exchange for free cryptocurrency, a project that claims to want to boost cryptocurrency adoption by creating a global identity network.。

Meanwhile, according to the statement, Worldcoin first set up registration stations across Kenya in April last year, followed by the launch of its cryptocurrency, which went live on Binancelate last month.。The country's data watchdog, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC), ordered the suspension of Worldcoin's operations in May 2022 to investigate the case.。

In May, ODPC again "directed the immediate cessation of the processing of sensitive personal data," the statement said.。Cabinet secretaries noted that the suspension had not been lifted。

"The government has launched an investigation to ensure that WorldCoin complies with the principles of data collection, storage and sharing," the Cabinet Secretary said in the latest investigation.。"The immediate mitigation measure is the formation of a multi-agency team of security, financial services and data protection authorities, which has begun inquiries and investigations to determine the legality of WorldCoin's activities, the security of data and the purpose of protecting personal data and reducing any bad behavior.。"

Meanwhile, Eliud Owalo, Cabinet Secretary at the Ministry of Information, Communications and Digital Economy, said in an interview with local Kenyan television station NTV that Worldcoin's activities did not violate any laws, but raised security and regulatory concerns.。

"The information available to the Data Commissioner is that, within the existing legal framework today, nothing in the law is negated by WorldCoin.。There has already been correspondence between the data commissioner's office and the entity, "Ovalo told the station.。"As far as the 2019 Data Act is concerned, they are acting within the law," the minister further noted, adding that the government was tackling the issue from a "multi-faceted approach."。

Meanwhile, the financial giant reported that French and UK data and privacy regulators had also previously said they planned to make inquiries about Worldcoin.。