Five Individuals Charged in Multibillion VAT Fraud Scheme

The individuals are said to have used about 12 companies to fraudulently deny the taxman billions of shillings and are set to be presented in court today.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has approved charges against five individuals and 12 companies linked to an alleged scheme to defraud the government of billions of shillings through fraudulent Value Added Tax (VAT) claims.

In a press statement dated Thursday, October 15, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said the alleged scheme used fictitious transactions and electronic tax invoices to help businesses unlawfully claim VAT refunds or reduce their tax liabilities.

The ODPP and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) jointly made the decision to charge, following a review of 70 inquiry files submitted for prosecution.

Investigators found that a network of companies, commonly known as missing traders, was allegedly used to generate fake electronic invoices for transactions that had not taken place.

Source: Kenyans.co.ke