This archive report was first published on 17 December 2019.
Elvine Leware's Sh664 Million Scandal: Taxman Seeks Sh313 Million ¶
Published on December 17, 2019, Kenya Insights continues to expose corrupt individuals who have made huge empires via taxpayers' money. Elvine Leware, a former junior employee at the National Treasury, has been at the center of a massive scandal.
Between 2010 and 2016, Leware received Sh664 million through bank transfers for 'consultancy' services in his 16 companies. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) now wants Sh313 million tax paid by Leware, as investigations showed he did not file tax returns for the multiple companies that did business with the government.
During the period, Leware was making millions while earning less than Sh20,000. The State Department for Water and Regional Authorities was losing money in fraudulent payments for consultancy services. Between 2014 to 2017 alone, the Department lost Sh605 million. In 2017, the State Department for Sports Development paid Sh130 million in suspect consultation fees.
According to the KRA's analysis, Leware received Sh27.8 million for consultancy services in September 2014 under Beachetts Services. Between April and December 2014, Sh103.3 million was sent to his bank accounts for consultancy on veterinary and construction. Sh27 million was not captured in the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) electronic procurement system.
Using another of his companies, Ndegwil Insights and Services, Leware was paid Sh62.1 million for consultancy services on resource utilisation in 2014. Endlevel Services provided consultancy services on youth employment at Sh38 million, and Sh43 million was paid for poverty mitigation consultancy under Vilekat Information also in 2014.
Waveline Consultancy received Sh22.9 million for consultancy services on best practices on RDAs and a further Sh33.6 million for consultancy between 2014 and 2015. Machira Limited, a company Leware incorporated in September 2014, received Sh35 million for the Kimira Oluch Smallholder Farm Improvement Project (KOSFIP) project.
The KRA wants VAT (Sh108 million), Income tax (Sh199 million), Pay As You Earn (Sh5 million), and capital gains Sh700,000 for a piece of land he sold in Ruiru in 2016 for Sh14 million. Despite being under investigation, Leware still roams free, and audits of his lifestyle show he is still enjoying the ill-gotten wealth.
