KRA interdicts 75 staff over collusion, graft

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Friday interdicted 75 senior and mid level members of its staff suspected to be serial facilitators of tax evasion.

As it steps up efforts aimed at sealing all loopholes that have led to consistent shortfalls in revenue collection, the taxman sacked the employees after their houses across the country were ransacked in search of evidence.

In a statement posted on twitter, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji said that the 75 were being investigated by Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives after the two state agencies received intelligence that the KRA employees were an impediment to the government’s efforts to finance its ambitious development projects.

“Following receipt of intelligence information that indicated that a number of KRA staff have been colluding with a number of taxpayers in a criminal enterprise to avoid payment of taxes or reduce tax liability. I directed the Director of Criminal Investigations to immediately launch investigations on the KRA staff and co-conspirators,” read the statement.

DPP’S Press Statement on OPERATION LINDA USHURU (KRA)#Anticorruption_ODPP pic.twitter.com/2Fw3u4CCqx

— Office of The Director Of Public Prosecutions (@ODPP_KE) May 10, 2019

Haji says the investigations by DCI revelaed that Operation Linda Ushuru that 80 KRA staff were part and parcel of the cartel including 62 from the Domestic Taxes Department and 18 from the Customs and Border Control Department.

He also acknowledged that the purge might affect services at the taxman’s headquarters.

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For the better part of the day, DCI detectives camped at the Times Tower (KRA headquarters) combing through digital and hard evidence before proceeding to the homes of the individual employees where they carted away material they deemed central to investigations.

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Investigations have been going on for months and it is expected that the suspects will be arraigned in court anytime.