Nairobi — Police have dropped the investigation against Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency project by Tools for Humanity, potentially clearing the way for its return to Kenya. This development was revealed in a letter from the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to the company.
The company lawyer had on May 21, 2024, written to the DCI to request an update on the status of the case. In a letter dated June 14, 2024, signed by Hilary Kimutai, it was stated that the DCI had thoroughly and impartially investigated various allegations regarding Worldcoin's activities in Kenya during 2022 and 2023, which included claims of unlawful collection and transfer of sensitive personal data.
"The resultant investigation file was forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for an independent review and advice," the letter stated. "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 advised Worldcoin to ensure proper business registration services in liaison with the Registrar of Business registry, as well as proper licensing and coordination by the Office of the Data Protection Commission (ODPC) and the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK). The police also recommended intensive vetting and legal contracting of all third-party vendors within the country.
Worldcoin's operations were suspended in Kenya in August 2023 due to claims of lacking proper documentation. The company's operations director, Thomas Scott, expressed gratitude for the developments.
"We are grateful for the DCI's fair investigation and for the Director of Public Prosecutions' determination to close the matter. This welcome result is, however, not an end but a beginning," Scott said. "We will continue working with the Government of Kenya and others and we hope to resume World ID registration across the country soon. For today, we are just pleased to return our focus to advancing Worldcoin's mission: creating opportunities for people in Kenya and elsewhere to participate in the global economy."
This resolution comes amid reports of ongoing discussions between the company and government officials for the resumption of business in Kenya.
The Worldcoin project was launched globally on June 24, 2023, but faced privacy concerns and questions about the security of the biodata collected from Kenyans. The verification process involved scanning individuals' eyeballs through an Orb in exchange for a digital identity called World ID. Concerns were heightened as new members received 25 free cryptocurrency tokens known as WLD after verification, valued at Sh8,256 at the time.
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Kenya suspended all activities associated with the crypto project until relevant agencies certified the absence of any security risks. Following the suspension, Alex Blania, the project's CEO, announced a pause in World ID verifications in Kenya to address the government's concerns.
"TFH has paused World ID verifications in Kenya as we continue to work with local regulators to address their questions. We apologize to everyone in Kenya for the delay," Blania said in an August 3 post on X (formerly Twitter). "World ID is built for privacy. We look forward to resuming operations while continuing global rollout."
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki informed the Senate on September 14, 2023, that the government was analyzing the hardware components OpenAI used to collect data from Kenyans for the project. Tools for Humanity had been scanning people's irises in Nairobi and other urban centers in Kenya since 2021 during the project's pilot phase.
By September 2023, Worldcoin stated that over 635,000 Kenyans had downloaded the crypto app, though 345,000 had not yet verified their identities by scanning their irises. Globally, nearly 5 million people have a World ID, according to the company's website, with 2.6 million verified.
The project has since updated to World ID 2.0, which, according to the company, makes it easier to distinguish between bots and "verified humans" online. The new version supports integrations for its World ID with platforms such as Minecraft, Reddit, Telegram, Shopify, and Mercado Libre.
