With only four days left to the September deadline, a man walked into a Nairobi car yard and made a purchase of a brand new Mercedes Benz, making the payment with old Sh1,000 bank notes.
According to a Nairobi-based car dealer, the price of the car was USD 74,000 (Sh7.4 million) and the man paid in cash.
This did not come as a surprise to the owner of the car yard since the whole country has been sensitized and warned to exchange the old Sh1,000 currency with the new ones as they would be rendered valueless after the deadline.
Since the beginning of the month, the Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge affirmed to having recorded huge expenditures as well the targeted people having surrendered the money to the various banks.
Read: Businesses Already Rejecting ‘Valueless’ Old Ksh1000 Notes Ahead Of Deadline
“People want to get rid of their old notes but they are sure eyebrows will be raised if they take them to the banks. I have had clients who have made their purchases on cash, in the Sh1,000 denominations,” said John, a car dealer in Nairobi quoted by the Standard.
The change of currency by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) was aimed to flush out dirty money held by businessmen and tax evaders who were involved in illegal businesses.
Huge lumps of money when submitted at the bank require papers of origin which might put people in trouble with the authorities.
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