Nairobi, March 12 -- The owner of a bus services company that plies the northern parts of Kenya is amongst 16 entities and individuals whom the United States has sanctioned for allegedly funding al-Shabaab terrorist group to the tune of Sh14 billion ($100 million) annually.

The Kenya-based businessman FYD, an Islamist banker, has been red-flagged as a conduit for funding al-Shabaab through close links to a network of firms and individuals based in Kenya, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and Finland.

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on Monday that this businessman works closely with another businessman MJA also based in Kenya, "to plan investment projects and money laundering activi...