Two directors of construction companies were charged at the Eldoret Law Courts on April 23, following an extensive investigation by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) that unearthed a tax fraud totalling over Ksh290 million.
A press release by the taxman on Tuesday, April 29, revealed that the two directors, both women, had been engaged in an elaborate scheme of tax evasion over a decade.
"Two directors were on 23rd April 2025 charged before Eldoret Law Courts with tax fraud after an extensive investigation by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) unearthed an elaborate scheme to evade payment of taxes totalling Kshs290,250,889," part of the statement read.
In the first case, the director underreported the earnings of her construction company between August 2014 and December 2019.
Although the company had earned over Ksh1 billion in income, she omitted the declaration of Ksh756,538,599 in the Value Added Tax (VAT) returns and Ksh441,532,631 in the income tax returns, resulting in evasion of Ksh282,755,785.
In the second case, the director fraudulently omitted from her tax returns income of Ksh7,961,020 earned between 2021 and 2022. She also failed to declare income amounting to Ksh18,228,282 earned in her individual capacity between 2018 and 2022. KRA established that the government would have lost Ksh5,106,798 in taxes.
Appearing before Senior Resident Magistrate Keyne Odhiambo Gweno, they both pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released on bond.
The first was granted a bond of Ksh5 million with an alternative cash bail of Ksh300,000, while the second one was granted a bond of Ksh2 million with an alternative cash bail of Ksh100,000 for charges against the company and Ksh2 million with an alternative cash bail of Ksh200,000 for her individual charges.
The cases will both be mentioned on May 5.
According to the Tax Procedures Act, 2015, they face a fine of up to Ksh10 million or double the taxes they evaded if convicted, They could also serve a jail term of up to five years.
KRA concluded the statement by encouraging the public to pay their taxes and to avoid similar repercussions in the long run.
"Taxpayers are encouraged to pay their taxes and remain compliant with tax laws to avoid punitive enforcement measures, including prosecution being taken against them," part of the statement read.
"The general public is also urged to report any instances of tax evasion to guarantee fair competition in the market."
