This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
On Thursday, August 22, 2019, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested Keroche Breweries Limited CEO Tabitha Karanja and her husband Joseph Karanja over allegations of tax evasion.
The couple was apprehended at their company in Naivasha, Nakuru County, a day after Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji ordered their arrest.
According to Haji, an audit by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) established that the couple, through Keroche Breweries, failed to remit excise duty and value-added tax (VAT) on its various beer products between January 2015 and June 2019.
“Having independently reviewed the file and applying the provisions of the National Prosecution Policy, I am satisfied that there is sufficient evidence and that it is in the public interest to charge the suspects listed herein with 10 counts of Tax Fraud, contrary to section 97 (a) and (c) of the Tax Procedures Act, 2015,” Haji said in a statement.
Tabitha Karanja had earlier expressed shock over the allegations and the manner in which the matter was handled, stating: “We are deeply shocked beyond imagination by both the allegations made and the manner at which the matter has been handled from the dissemination of the information. My shock is how a local investor can be, humiliated, embarrassed and denied the well-deserved respect…”
