KRA obtains orders freezing City Hall CFO bank accounts

Politics and policy

Mr Jimmy Kiamba, suspended Nairobi County chief finance officer. PHOTO | FILE 

By SANDRA CHAO-BLASTO, schao@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• The KRA had filed a suit against Mr Jimmy Kiamba, accusing him of failing to fully declare and pay taxes in the last eight years.
• The taxman had sought orders to preserve the funds contained in 10 bank accounts associated with Mr Kiamba, who is now prohibited from making any transfers, withdrawals or deposits in the accounts.

The taxman on Wednesday obtained court orders freezing suspended Nairobi County chief finance officer Jimmy Kiamba’s bank accounts, opening a new front in the legal battle over his vast estate.

The High Court granted the orders after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) filed a separate suit against Mr Kiamba, accusing him of failing to fully declare and pay taxes in the last eight years.

The KRA had sought orders to preserve the funds contained in 10 bank accounts associated with Mr Kiamba, who is now prohibited from making any transfers, withdrawals or deposits in the accounts.

Five of the accounts are with CFC Stanbic Bank and two accounts with Co-operative Bank. Mr Kiamba also operates one account each at Standard Chartered Bank, Equity Bank and Gulf African Bank.

The taxman described the amounts held in the said accounts as colossal, adding that there was a likelihood Mr Kiamba would frustrate recovery of the taxes owed if left to move the money.

The KRA claims that between 2007 and 2013 when Mr Kiamba worked for the Nairobi County government as chief finance officer, he has only been declaring employment income in his returns.

The tax regime is based on a self-assessment, which relies on full disclosure by individuals and companies when filing tax returns to the KRA.

READ: City Hall official who lives like a king on Sh85,000 pay

Cyrell Wangunda, a KRA official, said in a sworn affidavit that he had been involved in the tax assessment investigation of Mr Kiamba after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) found that the City Hall official had over time accumulated substantial amounts of cash in his accounts as well as several properties that generated substantial income.

The taxman is also targeting eight properties belonging to Mr Kiamba, all valued at Sh366 million.

The list includes two maisonettes at Bandari Villas in Nairobi’s South C estate, each estimated to be worth Sh10.5 million, and three plots on Pritt Lane Courts priced at Sh17.5 million each.

Mr Kiamba also owns properties in Nairobi’s Kileleshwa Estate valued at Sh40 million, another in Runda Water Estate valued at Sh72 million and another in Muthaiga valued at Sh180 million.

“A preliminary finding based on examination of the information and documents availed by the EACC indicate that the respondent has not been complying with the provisions of the Income Tax Act through underpayment,” he said.

KRA claims Mr Kiamba owes Sh98.3 million in unpaid taxes for the financial years 2010 to 2013.

Mr Wangunda says in a sworn affidavit that the sum is exclusive of tax assessments for the financial years 2006 to 2009, which are still being reviewed.