This archive report was first published on 8 August 2019.
On Thursday, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji approved tax evasion charges against billionaire businessman Humphrey Kariuki, who is accused of evading Ksh.41.5 billion in taxes between 2014 and 2019.
According to the DPP, an audit by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) revealed that Africa Spirits Limited/WOW Beverages Limited had evaded the payment of tax, with the company's employees facing charges of fraud, being in possession of uncustomed goods, and being in possession of counterfeit excise stamps.
The audit also revealed that the company had made false declarations to the KRA, and the DPP has directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to pursue the aspect of money laundering and forward the file for perusal.
On February 26, 2019, the High Court in Nairobi granted orders to freeze 11 accounts associated with the business tycoon over alleged tax evasion amounting to Ksh.3 billion.
However, Kariuki's companies moved to court to challenge the orders, claiming that the KRA lied to the court and brought dishonest allegations to obtain the orders freezing their accounts.
"There is a premeditated, well-coordinated and persistent scheme devised by KRA to malign my reputation and cause me business loss," Kariuki said in court papers.
On February 26, 2019, police raided Mr. Kariuki's Africa Spirits Limited plant and recovered an estimated Ksh.21 million counterfeit excise stamps and 312,000 litres of illicit products.
