This archive report was first published on 17 June 2020.
Tuskys Faces Regulatory Action Over Sh1.2 Billion Debt ¶
On April 2020, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) started investigating Tuskys operations after reports emerged that the supermarket chain was not paying suppliers on time.
As of June 2020, Tuskys owed suppliers a total of Sh1.2 billion, with Sh884.3 million of this amount being disclosed to the regulator on May 15, 2020. However, further investigations revealed that the retailer had failed to disclose another Sh400.9 million owed to suppliers.
CAK has ordered Tuskys to settle its outstanding debt in a specified schedule, failure to which the penalties will be imposed. The regulator has also asked the retailer to furnish it with its monthly bank statements for the past one year for all bank accounts relating to its retail business by Friday this week.
According to the Business Daily, Tuskys' executives and the retail chain risk a jail term of five years or a fine of up to Sh10 million or both if they fail to settle the debt or furnish CAK with bank statements, audited accounts, list of suppliers and their contracts.
CAK has ordered Tuskys to settle its outstanding debt in a specified schedule, failure to which the penalties will be imposed. The regulator has also asked the retailer to furnish it with its monthly bank statements for the past one year for all bank accounts relating to its retail business by Friday this week.
“Any person who fails to comply with the order of the authority commits an offence,” said CAK in a letter to the retailer. “This matter remains under investigations and further orders will be issued as and when merited”.
CAK has ordered Tuskys to settle its outstanding debt in a specified schedule, failure to which the penalties will be imposed. The regulator has also asked the retailer to furnish it with its monthly bank statements for the past one year for all bank accounts relating to its retail business by Friday this week.
While Tuskys has blamed its woes on the Covid-19 pandemic, a substantial part of the debt predates the disease, which was first confirmed in the country on March 12.
