A foreign businessman from Pakistan fainted in a Mombasa court on Wednesday, December 11, after he was slapped with a Ksh20 million bond.
According to a report by Daily Nation, Nabeel Hussain Qureshi, together with colleague Salman Ahmed Rizvi, were charged for failing to pay the state Ksh126 million in revenue.
He reportedly collapsed as the court's staffers were taking him to the cells awaiting for the bond's processing.
He had earlier pleaded for leniency, arguing that he had been in the country for less than a year.
"I am only 23 years old. I have been in Kenya for less than a year. The company owners are in Japan. Please help me," Qureshi told the court.
After he fainted, the court clerks poured water on him to regain consciousness before escorting him to the cells.
According to court documents, the two leaders, who were listed as directors in an importation company, were accused of dealing fraudulently thereby costing government millions of shillings in tax arrears.
The prosecutions argued that in the months between January 2013 and December 2018, the two constantly filed nil returns and declared low returns on vehicle sales.
In one instance, they were accused of making incorrect statements that reduced the company's tax liability by Ksh32.2 million.
Kenya Revenue Authority's statement revealed that their company imported 599 vehicles between January 2013 and December 2018 for Ksh217 million. The team later sold the cars for Ksh658 million but only pegged their revenue at Ksh33 million.
The case is set for mention on December 17, 2019.
