Nairobi car dealer Joseph Kairo Wambui, alias Khalif Kairo was on Monday charged at Nyeri Law Court with tax fraud of Sh1.2 million.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) accused Kairo, who owns the car dealership Kai & Karo Limited, of knowingly mis-declaring a Range Rover Vogue as a used Range Rover Sport on January 10, 2024, to evade payment of customs duty of Sh1,283,830.
He was charged with being knowingly concerned with fraudulent evasion of payment of duty.
He pleaded not guilty and was granted a bond of Sh500,000.
The case will be mentioned on June 4, 2025.
The embattled businessman faces a jail term not exceeding three years or a fine not exceeding Sh1 million if found guilty.
Kairo has been arrested, rearrested, and arraigned several times in the past year over accusations of swindling his customers.
In January, the businessman was brought before the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi for allegedly defrauding two clients out of Sh2.1 million and Sh2.9 million, respectively.
According to court documents, Kairo deceived a customer between July 10 and July 29, 2024, in Westlands, Nairobi under the pretence of facilitating the importation of a Honda SUV from Japan, which was never delivered.
In the second incident, the businessman is accused of obtaining money from a customer in July 2024 for a Subaru SUV, and detectives say the car was not delivered despite being paid in full.
He was re-arrested later that month after a court appearance for similar accusations.
Previously, the prosecution has pointed out that Kairo is a potential flight risk with the means and potential to evade justice if released.
A day before his arrest on January 11, for instance, the court heard that the accused purchased an airline ticket and was scheduled to fly to New York, U.S. on January 12.
Police said he told them that he was planning a trip to New York to secure funds and return to settle the matter.
Kairo had been charged on January 29, with obtaining Sh3,045,000 from Dan Odhiambo Odundo by falsely claiming he could import a Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 from Japan through his company, Kai & Karo Limited a claim he allegedly knew to be false.
He pleaded not guilty before Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi.
This case was the latest in multiple charges related to defrauding clients in vehicle import deals.
Earlier in January 2025 Kairo was arraigned for allegedly deceiving clients into paying substantial amounts for vehicles that were never delivered.
In one instance, he is accused of obtaining Sh2,145,150 from Jeff Kyule Munane between July 10 and July 29, 2024, under the pretense of importing a Honda Vezel Hybrid from Japan.
In another case, he allegedly received Sh2.9 million from Dona Ayalo Okoth in July 2024, promising to import a Subaru Outback, which was also not delivered.
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