This archive report was first published on 1 July 2020.
Kenya Revenue Authority Manager and Wife Charged with Tax Evasion ¶
On July 1, 2020, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) filed a suit in court against Joseph Chege Gikonyo, a Kenya Revenue Authority manager, and his wife Lucy Kangai Stephen, for evading taxes worth Sh. 38.6 million.
Gikonyo, who has been an employee of the Kenya Revenue Authority since 1998, had declared assets estimated at only Sh. 61 million, despite his wealth being estimated at over Sh. 615 million.
The EACC argued that Gikonyo's massive fortune could not be explained by his salary and bonus from tea farming in Murang'a County. The commission attached all his payslips from 1998 and statements of proceeds from tea farming, which showed he had earned a total of Sh. 45 million in the last 20 years.
According to the EACC, Gikonyo's known sources of income were cumulative salaries totaling Sh. 14 million, proceeds from sale of tea totaling Sh. 4 million, profit from sale of property of Sh. 21 million, and cumulative sacco loans of Sh. 5 million.
However, the EACC claimed that an analysis of Gikonyo's mobile phone number revealed that he had received a total of Sh. 43,913,116 through mobile money transfers sent to him by directors and managers of clearing and forwarding companies.
The EACC also alleged that Gikonyo had taken out insurance policies for his family totaling Sh. 3.7 million and bought shares in Safaricom Ltd, Equity Ltd, Kenya-Re, and KenGen.
Justice Hedwig Ong'udi issued an order in favor of the EACC, stopping Gikonyo, his wife, and their company Giche Ltd from disposing of any of their listed assets and property until the source of their wealth was determined.
