The Crime of Fighting Poverty: Local Currency’s Success in Kenya Ends in Forgery Charges

July 13, 2013

Former Peace Corps volunteer Will Ruddick and several residents of Bangladesh, Kenya, face a potential seven years in prison after developing a cost-effective way to alleviate poverty in Africa’s poorest slums.  Their solution: a complementary currency issued and backed by the local community.  The Central Bank of Kenya has now initiated charges of forgery.