This archive report was first published on 14 August 2019.
August 14, 2019
Billionaire Humphrey Kariuki has distanced himself from Africa Spirits, a company at the centre of a Sh41 billion tax fraud probe.
Through his London-based lawyers, Schillings, Kariuki claimed that Africa Spirits is not one of the companies owned by the Janus Continental Group (JCG).
“Humphrey Kariuki explained that this will allow him to focus his efforts on challenging the claims in the courts,” JCG said in a statement regarding Kariuki's resignation as chairman of the board.
As chairman of JCG, Kariuki had oversight of several businesses, including The HUB, a high-end shopping mall in Karen, which had been targeted for seizure by the prosecution in the fraud case.
Assets owned by Dalbit Petroleum, a company co-owned by Kariuki and Margaret Mbaka, are also among those targeted for seizure, according to court orders issued last week.
An arrest warrant was issued for Kariuki, but he is believed to be in the United Kingdom, where one of his private jets was parked last Friday.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed the arrest and prosecution of Kariuki last Thursday, at a time he was suspected to be in either South Africa or Mozambique.
The State is seeking to seize Kariuki's assets, including his pricey Mount Kenya Safari Club, private planes, 89 vehicles, and freeze bank accounts of 31 firms linked to him.
