DPP orders closure of Worldcoin inquiry file

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga has ordered the closure of the Worldcoin inquiry file in Kenya with no police action after months of probe.

The decision now paves the way for its return to operations in the country.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Serious Crime Unit has been conducting the investigations.

According to the investigative agency Worldcoin activities in the country did not meet the threshold for any criminal charges.

These revelations are in a June 14, 2024, letter from the DCI to Worldcoin lawyers TFH, Bowmans and Colmans who had written to the agency seeking to know the status of the case.

“The resultant investigation file was forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for an independent review and advice,” reads the letter signed by Hillary Kimutai.

“Upon review of the file, the Director of Public Prosecutions concurred and directed that the file be closed with no further police action.”

The DCI found that the company had not illegally used, stored or taken any personal data out of the country.

The agency advised Worldcoin to do proper business registration in liaison with the Registrar of Business registry and ensure intensive vetting and legal contracting of third-party vendors within Kenya.

DCI also advised the company to ensure proper licensing was done by both the Office of Data Protection Commission and the Communication Authority of Kenya.

Worldcoin operations in Kenya were stopped after the Interior CS Kithure Kindiki issued a directive on August 2, 2023.

Kindiki said the cryptocurrency project would resume its activities once inquiries on the safety of the harvested data were concluded.

A special committee was set up to probe the saga but the report is yet to be tabled in parliament for debate.

The Standard has learnt that DCI sent two top detectives including the DCI Head of Cybercrime to Germany during the investigation to investigate the workings of the equipment used to scan the iris.

After getting the green light to resume operations it now remains to be seen if the authorities will okay Worldcoin to resume operations.

Its Operations Director Thomas Scott says they hope to resume operations in Kenya as soon as possible saying they welcome the end of the probe by DCI.

“We will continue working with the Government of Kenya and others and we hope to resume World ID registration across the country soon,” he said.

According to Scott, the company has implemented innovative solutions to address user privacy and the security of personal data concerns.

He said that the innovation will allow users to maintain control of their data and its potential future usage or deletion.

The focus will now be on parliament and the government for the setup of a regulatory framework for the operations of the cryptocurrency market in Kenya.