Nairobi, March 29 -- The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is paying close attention to huge cash payments by betting firms, which points to a possibility of tax evasion and money laundering in this cash-rich sector.

Because cash is one of the options in the modes of payments, KRA says it has noticed a trend where betting companies, unlike other sectors, have increasingly paid in cash, making it difficult to follow the money trail.

The cash transactions have raised a red flag at a time when some punters are paying betting firms using untraceable cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, making it difficult for KRA to collect taxes.

KRA Chief Manager Domestic taxes Miriam Sila on Tuesday said they are cases where they have bumped into huge figures-...