Irony of Kenya Revenue Authority manager, wife accused of evading Sh38m tax

For the last decade, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) manager Joseph Chege Gikonyo has been living large, having acquired assets worth at least Sh597 million.

The KRA worker boasts of an investment portfolio that even chief executives in blue chip companies would be jealous of.

He has at least 10 homes spread across Nairobi, Mombasa and Kilifi and a block of flats in Nairobi’s Umoja Estate.

Mr Gikonyo has also invested in Equity Bank, Safaricom, Kenya Reinsurance Corporation, KenGen and Madison Insurance.

When the court froze his assets in 2016 pending an Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigation, his six bank accounts had a cumulative Sh15.1 million balance.

Today, Mr Gikonyo and his wife Lucy Kangai will be on the dock for evading taxes of at least Sh38.6 million which accrued through their investment.

Also read:: KRA Manager and Wife arrested

The couple has since 2016 been in and out of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Court at Milimani over how they acquired Sh597 million between 2010 and 2015.

In 2018, the EACC filed a suit seeking to have Mr Gikonyo, his wife and their firm surrender their allegedly ill-gotten wealth to the State.

The anti-graft agency insists that Mr Gikonyo used his position as a KRA manager to swindle public funds and evade taxes, and will be asking the courts to convict the couple.

ARRESTED

The EACC yesterday arrested the couple and will present them in court following approval by the DPP.

Anti-graft CEO Twalib Mbarak (above) yesterday confirmed that the couple will be charged alongside their company, Giche Ltd, for fraudulent failure to pay taxes amounting to Sh38.6 million.

“The commission has established that between 2010 and 2015, Joseph Chege Gikonyo and Lucy Kangai Stephen both being directors of Giche Ltd, a limited liability company registered under the laws of Kenya, fraudulently failed to pay taxes to the KRA to the sum of Sh38,692,694 being the company’s tax due and expenses.”

Upon completion of the investigation and pursuant to Section 35 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act the file was submitted to the office of the DPP who upon approval has granted consent to apprehend and arraign before court Joseph Chege Gikonyo, Lucy Kangai Stephen and M/S Giche Limited,” Mr Mbarak said.

Mr Gikonyo and his wife made cash deposits of Sh399 million in their bank accounts between 2010 and 2016.

EACC investigators uncovered how Mr Gikonyo received huge sums of money from directors of clearing and forwarding firms through mobile money transfer and which ended up in the couple’s bank accounts.

The civil case documents filed indicate that Mr Gikonyo acquired several plots in Mtwapa, Kilifi, Mombasa, Umoja Inner Core in Nairobi and Mwangunda in Kwale using what detectives believe are proceeds of graft.