Billionaire Jubilee Party sponsor denies holding Sh2.5bn in eight accounts

Businesswoman Mary Wambui Mungai has denied claims by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) that eight of her accounts targeted for freezing over unpaid taxes are holding a total of Sh2.5 billion.

Ms Mungai and her daughter Purity Njoki were charged together with tax evasion in December together with their company Purma Holdings ltd. They were released after paying cash bail of Sh50 million.

She says in reply to several petitions filed by KRA before the High Court that eight of the 13 accounts targeted for freezing only hold Sh6 million.

Four of the accounts, she says have been dormant while two do not belong to her, although they have been registered in her names.

“There is no such sum of Sh2,535,410,527 or any part thereof held by the four respondent bank herein on behalf of the 1st and 3rd interest parties, and myself in the eight accounts listed in the notice of motion dated December 17, 2021 as misrepresented by the applicant,” she said in an affidavit. 

The taxman says Ms Mungai and her daughter, both directors of Purma Holdings Ltd, are believed to have evaded paying tax of Sh2.5 billion by failing to declare the correct taxes from 2014 to 2019.

The KRA says in the court documents that Ms Mungai deals in supplies to government departments both in the country and region, but she failed to declare the correct tax in the said period. 

According to the taxman, Ms Mungai, through her business, received a total of Sh9.88 billion in the said period but was not reflected in the iTax ledger.

The targeted accounts are in Equity, Stanbic, Credit Bank, Family and KCB. Six of the accounts are registered under Purma Holdings, while the rest are in Ms Mungai’s name.

But Ms Mungai says KRA wrote to her on December 6, claiming unpaid taxes of Sh44.6 million, which she said she was in the process of settling. She said she has already paid Sh10 million.

The businesswoman says she has filed audited accounts for the entire period and returns and obtained tax compliance certificates, since 2014 to March 2021.

She says the taxman wrote to her bankers on December 7, asking the lenders not to allow the transfer or withdrawal of any money in the accounts, in a scheme to ensure she remained in custody after denying tax evasion charges.

“The intention was to ensure that the 3rd interest party and I are unable to raise cash bail from our personal accounts,” she said.

Ms Mungai further claims that the taxman wrote to the four banks blocking withdrawal or transfer of money from other companies linked to her businesses, including Enterprise Suppliers ltd, Evertec General Trading ltd, Njest Suppliers ltd and Daydot ltd all in a bid to ensure they do not raise the Sh50 million cash bail.

The amount was paid from her company known as Glee Hotel ltd, although KRA had also written to Equity to stop any withdrawal or transfer.

KRA says in court documents that Purma Holdings made income of Sh7.65 billion, but only declared Sh1.9 billion, denying the taxman Sh1.93 billion.

In another instance, the company made supplies of Sh7.66 billion, but it declared Sh281 million and in the process denied the KRA Sh597 million.

“The amounts held by aforesaid respondents banks be preserved pending the issuance of tax assessments and recovery of taxes or until further court orders of the court,” KRA said.

The Nairobi-based businesswoman has bagged tenders, including the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency and supplying boots, uniforms and cereals to the military, among other State departments.