3 KRA imposters held after taking Sh500,000 bribe in fraud scheme

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is holding three men arrested for allegedly receiving a Sh500,000 bribe from a businessman they accused of involvement in tax evasion.

Police say Erick Otieno Atanga, Joel Omino and John Odhiambo, who were arrested on Friday, pretended to be Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials.

They allegedly demanded that amount of money from Patiala Distillers Director Francis Kielelo after threatening him with a dossier from Kenya Tax Justice Association – an NGO.

They claimed the document unearthed Mr Kielelo’s alleged tax evasion schemes following investigations by the NGO.

The three sent the letter to the director through WhatsApp, threatening to leak his business’ secrets and policies if he did not give them the money, but he reported them to Nairobi area DCI head offices.

Cornered

In an affidavit filed at the Kibera Law Courts, Sergeant Samuel Macharia of the Nairobi area DCI headquarters said Mr Kielelo gave police the money which was first treated and photographed and then took it to the three suspects during a meeting at a city hotel.

"He met them at Java Airport View petrol station where he handed over the money in a white envelope after a short conversation,” Sgt Macharia stated.

“Kielelo was handed a letter purported to be from KRA and the Kenya Tax Justice Association after handing over the money. CCTV footage shows Atanga opening the envelope to confirm if all the money was in.”

The detective said after the suspects were arrested, more documents were found in Mr Omino’s car with details of Mr Kielelo and his company.

Mr Macharia sought the court’s permission to detain the three until Friday to conclude investigations into the matter.

He wants to confirm whether the three are employees of the tax collector, get bank statements from the bank where the money was obtained and obtain CCTV footage from the restaurant where the money changed hands.

Phone records

The detective also intends to submit the suspects’ phones to the Cyber Crime Unit for analysis, and recover more documents supplied to Mr Kielelo as well as the machines that generated them.

Mr Macharia will also visit the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to establish ownership of the vehicle – KCX 869N – that the three used.

Senior principal magistrate Peter Mutua granted Macharia the orders and directed him to return the three to the court on Friday.

They will be held at Kileleshwa Police Station.