FOREIGN INVESTORS CHARGED WITH TAX EVASION

The accused at the lower Criminal court Mombasa County Kenya. PHOTO /DONALD KOGAI

FOREIGN INVESTORS CHARGED WITH TAX EVASION

By Donald Kogai

Two businessmen of Pakistani Nationality were

charged before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Ms

Edna Nyaloti for evading tax worth Ksh1.5

billion.

The traders, Rahim Qasim and Rameez Gulzar

Ali alongside their firm Jhulay Lal Commodities

limited were found to have been importing rice

into the country while deliberately failing to pay

Income Tax.

According to investigations, it was established

that for the period covering January 2015 and

December 2018, the suspects imported rice

worth Ksh1.68 Billion.

They sold the rice and banked the proceeds in

their various companies’ accounts.

The suspects faced three counts of tax evasion.

In the first count, the suspects while trading as

Jihulay Lai commodities limited, jointly with

others not before court, knowingly defaulted to

remit Income Tax of Ksh595, 363,478 in the

year 2016.

They also faced two other counts of defaulting

to pay Kshs434, 930, 264 in the year 2017.

The amount arose from omitted business

undertakings with a sum of Ksh1,441,318,809.

The suspects also defaulted to remit Kshs 522,

925,981 in the year 2018.

And accumulated from the omitted business

undertakings with a sum of Ksh1,735,015,739.

Accused pleaded not guilty and were released

on a bond of 20 Million surety of the same

amount.

State prosecution applied for the accused to

deposit their passports with court, which was

granted by the Magistrate in the ruling .

There arrest followed a lengthy investigations

carried out by KRA’s Investigation and

Enforcement Department on tax fraud schemes

into the country.

Criminal case will be mentioned on 3rd March

2020 9am East Africa Time.

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