SportyBet Limited back in Kenya
SportyBet Limited back in Kenya? A whistleblower has exposed some disturbing details on how money allegedly exchanged hands between some senior government officials and Kenya Revenue Authority officials who have successfully paved the way for the return of SportyBet Limited back in Kenya, years after it left the country over tax evasion claims.
“As President William Ruto and his administration continue working hard to propel the country to another economic level, some individuals within the KRA and the government continue being a hindrance to his work. Imagine taking kickbacks and bribes, allowing a company that owes Kenyans billions of dollars to continue operating. We shall be moving to court to stop these fraudulent activities,” said a whistleblower.
Despite these developments, our investigating team has unravelled disturbing details and negotiations on how senior officials within Sportybet Limited shared some loot to have their operations back in Kenya. They did so after they learnt that its operation in Kenya led to massive profits compared to other countries.
Before it left the country, Sporty Bet Ltd had gone to court, accusing the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) of hurting its operations by freezing its accounts in six banks and Safaricom pay bill numbers over claims of unpaid tax amounting to Sh5 billion. KRA, on its part, confirmed to the court that Sporty Bet had not complied with its obligations of paying taxes on time
KRA, during the commotion, moved to the court, seeking the preservation of Sporty Bet’s firm bank accounts, pending the conclusion of the audit.
According to the law, Section 43 of the Tax Procedures Act allows the KRA to seek the preservation of a taxpayer’s money in the hands of a third party without notifying the party.
The freeze is usually granted for a limited period before moving to court formally. This came months after KRA launched a major operation targeting betting firms, in which it demanded a staggering Sh95 billion from SportPesa, an amount that the firm has contested.
It is now ironic how Sportybet managed to get back despite such multi-billion allegations from the KRA.
Previously, KRA submitted that it has, for many years, been experiencing challenges in assessing and collecting all tax revenues because of acts, omissions, and vices perpetrated by some taxpayers, which result in incorrect tax declarations, denying the government revenue
However, through lawyer Sega Addah, the KRA said in court that SportyBet has no known assets in the country apart from the money being held in the six banks and Safaricom paybill numbers.
In a case pending before the High Court, SportyBet Ltd told Justice Alfred Mabeya that it has been unable to pay salaries, rent, and other obligations because of a preservation order obtained by the KRA in April and extended last month.
The firm told the court that the taxman unprocedurally obtained the orders, freezing the bank accounts at KCB, Standard Chartered, Equity Bank, Stanbic, ABC Bank, Co-operative Bank, and several Safaricom paybill numbers.
“The respondent currently employs over 20 Kenyans, and the continued freezing of its bank accounts based on the preservatory orders issued herein has forced it to find alternative but costly means of meeting its salary obligations and other contractual obligations to third parties,” the firm said in the application.
