This archive report was first published on 22 August 2019.
Kenyan billionaire Humphrey Kariuki has broken his silence over allegations of evading taxes amounting to Sh41 billion, which he claims are 'untrue, without merit, and fabricated.'
According to a statement released by Kariuki on Tuesday, he is a law-abiding citizen who believes in the rule of law. He stated, 'I am a law-abiding citizen who believes in the rule of law. The allegations leveled against me are untrue, without merit, fabricated and intended to use the judicial process to tarnish my name.'
Kariuki further clarified that none of his companies has a pending tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). He stated, 'I affirm that I have no outstanding tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority and that I do not manage any company that has a tax dispute with the KRA. Therefore any allegation linking me to tax evasion is false and is made in bad faith.'
He explained that his international business interests, which require him to spend less than four months in the country, have attracted jealousy from certain quarters. Kariuki stated, 'Due to my business interests outside the country, I am in Kenya for less than 130 days a year. Most of my time is committed to my international ventures, which appear to have attracted jealousy from certain quarters, who are hell-bent on ensuring that they ruin my business by tarnishing my character and reputation through adverse and orchestrated media publicity and implication with offenses that I am a stranger to.'
On Monday, Kariuki was charged with 21 counts of evading taxes amounting to Sh41 billion between 2014 and 2019. He was freed on a cash bail of Sh11 million after pleading not guilty.
