This archive report was first published on 27 November 2019.
On November 27, 2019, a significant development took place in the Sh41 billion tax evasion dispute, with Geoffrey Kinoti Mbobua, a High Court advocate, and Humphrey Kariuki, a tycoon, facing charges.
Mr. Mbobua, the director of Africa Spirits Limited (ASL), has been charged with 18 counts of tax evasion, tax fraud, aiding the commission of tax offenses, and being in possession of counterfeit excise stamps and excisable goods.
He denied all charges before Chief Magistrates Francis Andayi and Martha Mutuku.
The allegations against Mr. Mbobua include aiding two companies linked to Mr. Kariuki, ASL and Wow Beverages, to conceal 122,610 bottles of alcoholic drinks with counterfeit excise stamps to evade paying requisite tax.
Mr. Kariuki and his associates, including Stuart Gerald, Peter Njenga, Robert Muriithi, Geoffrey Mbobua, Simon Maundu, and Kepha Githu, are facing 21 charges in three different files involving the scheme to evade tax.
The charges alleged that they deliberately failed to pay taxes, falsified records, omitted records from the Value Added Tax (VAT), and concealed excise stamp duties between February 2016 and December 2018, resulting in a tax loss of Sh41 billion.
The case will be heard on December 10.
