DCI and KRA in new partnership to fight tax evasion
Containers being offloaded at the port of Mombasa. The government is reviving the Kenya National Shipping Line after years of mismanagement and mounting debts led to its near collapse. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The partnership will also focus on the management of customs clearance operations.
- As a result, KPA and KRA officials were charged with concealment and improper declaration of goods.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) have partnered to enhance the fight against tax evasion and corruption involving collusion between taxpayers and the authority’s staff.
The collaboration will focus on various aspects, among them the management of customs clearance operations and the tackling of illicit trade as well as on importation and local manufacturers level.
As a result of the partnership, three Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) officials Tom Oyugi, Enock Omondi and William Langat as well as KRA official Erick Mucheni were charged with concealment and improper declaration of goods imported through the port of Mombasa.
It was alleged that on diverse dates between July 31 and August 4 this year, the accused had concealed goods in a KPA shed at the Embakasi inland depot in Nairobi with the intention to subsequently remove them without following prescribed processes.
Mr Muchemi, an ICT officer at KRA, is charged with a second count of concealing an assortment of imported goods on diverse dates over the same period.
He is also charged with being in possession of counterfeit goods.
They denied the charges and have each been released on bail.
