•The court in October last year issued orders freezing the sale of his properties worth Sh192 million and a Toyota Prado valued at Sh5 million. The orders were to last for 6 months.
•The EACC after completing its probe now wants the properties which have increased in value returned to the state.
Image: FILE
The anti-graft body has filed a case in court seeking to have assets worth Sh278 million illegally acquired by a former tax enforcement officer at KRA forfeited to the government.
The Ethics and anti-corruption commission says they have completed their investigations and have established that between January 2012 and January 2021, Jeremiah Kinyua amassed wealth that was not commensurate with his known sources of income.
The court in October last year issued orders freezing the sale of his properties worth Sh192 million and a Toyota Prado valued at Sh5 million. The orders were to last for 6 months.
The EACC after completing its probe now wants the properties which have increased in value returned to the state.
Investigations by the commission have revealed that Kinyua received substantial cash deposits in his various bank accounts which he could not demonstrate the source.
The commission suspects the same were bribes received by Kinyua by virtue of his employment at KRA.
He would then use his two companies which he co-directs with his spouse Theresa Njeri as conduits to receive, hold and conceal funds acquired in the course of the corrupt conduct.
The companies are listed as Cherya Enterprises and Bestline Enterprises Limited.
According to the court documents, Kinyua acquired land properties valued at Sh181 million, bank account and mpesa deposits as well as recovered cash amounting to Sh92 million. All summing up to Sh278 million.
“From the foregoing analysis, the commission established that the total assets accumulated by Kinyua and his companies in landed properties, bank and M-Pesa deposits, and motor vehicles which were disproportionate to their known legitimate source of income valued at Sh278 million,”
Kinyua was asked to explain his assets with their known legitimate source of income. Only a cumulative value of assets worth Sh83 million was found to have been satisfactorily explained.
On Thursday, May 12, 2022, Justice Esther Maina issued orders stopping Kinyua from developing or disposing of five parcels of land worth Sh69 million.
Four of the properties are situated in Kitengela. They are all owned by Kinyua.
Also stopped is the selling of other properties located in Ruiru under the name of Cherya Enterprises worth Sh95 million and another property under the name of Bestline Enterprises worth Sh18 million.
The court further allowed the commission to keep custody of Sh500,000 and Yuan 15,648 (Shs 267, 678 million) seized from Kinyua’s residential premises on June 9 2021. The orders will lapse on May 26.
During the period of investigations, Kinyua’s known legitimate source of income was his salary earned from KRA which amounted to Sh11.6 million.
He worked at KRA from January 28 2005 when he was appointed as a Graduate trainee and was promoted through the ranks to the position of supervisor and worked in the domestic tax department until 29 January 2021 when he resigned.