Kenya, May 26 -- Businessman Joseph Kairo Wambui, also known as Khalif Kairo, was taken to court in Nyeri on Monday for tax fraud involving Ksh 1.2 million.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) claims that Wambui, who runs a car dealership called Kai & Karo Limited, filed incorrect information about a Range Rover car.
He stated that it was a used Range Rover Sport when it was actually a different model, in order to avoid paying customs duty of Ksh 1,283,830.
Wambui is charged with trying to cheat the government out of taxes. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a bond of Ksh 500,000. The next court date for this case is set for June 4, 2025.
If found guilty, Wambui could face up to three years in jail or a fine of up to Ksh 1 million.
This is not Wambui's first legal trouble. He has been arrested several times in the past year for allegedly cheating his customers.
In January, he appeared in front of a court in Nairobi for allegedly taking money from two clients, defrauding them of Ksh2.1 million and Ksh2.9 million, respectively.
Court documents show that between July 10 and July 29, 2024, he tricked a customer in Westlands, Nairobi, by claiming he would help import a Honda SUV from Japan, but the car was never delivered.
In another case, he is accused of collecting money for a Subaru SUV in July 2024, but the car was not delivered either, even though the customer had paid in full.
Wambui was arrested again later that month after appearing in court for similar issues. The prosecution has warned that he might try to leave the country to escape justice if released.
For example, the day before his January 11 arrest, he bought a plane ticket to New York, USA, for a flight on January 12.
Police reported that he told them he was going to New York to find money and planned to return to resolve his legal problems.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.