A brother to Governor Wavinya Ndeti and a Machakos MCA have been arraigned before a Nairobi court over an alleged tax fraud scheme amounting to more than KSh 387 million.
The accused Vincent Somba Ndeti, Hellen Mueni Ndeti, and Sollenti International Limited appeared before where they facing eight counts of fraud in relation to tax under the Tax Procedures Act, 2015. They denied all charges.
According to the prosecution, led by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the offences relate to deliberate mis-statements in both income tax and Value Added Tax (VAT) returns between 2019 and 2022.
The court heard that the accused, as directors of Sollenti International Limited, allegedly engaged in a scheme involving fictitious purchases and under-declaration of income in a bid to reduce their tax liabilities.
In one of the counts, the trio is accused of falsely claiming purchases worth KSh 3 million in their 2019 VAT returns, resulting in a tax reduction of nearly KSh 500,000. In another count, they allegedly under-declared income and inflated expenses by over KSh 220 million in their 2020 income tax filings, leading to a tax loss exceeding KSh 55 million.
The prosecution further told the court that similar fraudulent declarations were made in subsequent years. For the 2021 tax period, the accused allegedly claimed fictitious purchases of more than KSh 345 million and under-declared income by over KSh 52 million, reducing their tax liability by nearly KSh 120 million.
For VAT filings in 2021 and 2022, the court heard that the accused continued the scheme, allegedly inflating purchases and suppressing income declarations, resulting in tens of millions of shillings in lost tax revenue.
In total, the State estimates that the fraudulent activities led to a cumulative tax loss of KSh 387,390,338.
The prosecution maintains that the accused knowingly submitted false tax returns, actions that undermined the integrity of the tax system and deprived the government of critical revenue needed for public services.
Through their lawyer they told the court that they are not the directors of Sollenti International Ltd.
The lawyer further told the court that the two have been out on a police cash bail of Ksh100k hence not at flight risk.
The lawyer also submitted that the first accused reside in the USA and he has been attending police summons for the last years and should not grant the request by prosecution to deposit his passport in court.
Principal magistrate Geofrey Onsaringo granted them a Bond of 3Millin shillings or a cash bail of 500,000 shillings each .
The case is part of ongoing efforts by the Kenya Revenue Authority to crack down on tax evasion and enforce compliance.
