William Oliver Ruddick, a US national and five Kenyans arrested over the Bangla-pesa project in Mombasa have been charged with being in possession of forgery Papers contrary to section 367(e) of the Penal code. The six are said to have been illegally in possession of the said papers.
In 2013, William Oliver Ruddick, an American economist and former Peace Corps volunteer, and five Kenyan collaborators were arrested in Mombasa, Kenya, over their involvement in the Bangla-Pesa project—a community-based complementary currency initiative aimed at alleviating poverty in the Bangladesh area.
The project issued vouchers that could be used for local trade, effectively increasing economic activity and community resilience. However, the Central Bank of Kenya viewed these vouchers as a form of illegal tender, leading to charges of forgery against Ruddick and his team.
Despite initial arrests and legal challenges, the Director of Public Prosecutions later dropped all charges, stating that no laws had been broken by the program. This decision allowed the Bangla-Pesa initiative to resume operations, with plans to relaunch the program in November 2013.
The Bangla-Pesa project has been recognized as a pioneering example of community-driven economic development, demonstrating the potential of local currencies to empower marginalized communities and stimulate economic growth from within
