Officials of Riders Uganda at Court after plea taking
The Anti-Corruption court has charged five officials of Riders Uganda Limited for causing a tax loss of more than Shs 5 billion.
The suspects are; Pius Mwilili Muli and Richard Drakuma both directors, and three accountants Obadiah Kioko, a Kenyan national, Betty Namwanje, and Stephen Kasenge.
They were arraigned before court presided over by acting senior principal grade one magistrate Abert Asiimwe and charged with three counts of making a false statement to a tax officer, contrary to the Tax Procedures Code Act of 2014.
Court heard that between July 2015 to June 2021 being the directors and accountants respectively of Riders Uganda Limited for the purposes of evading tax, knowingly made a false statement to the tax officer that sales, as declared in the monthly Value Added Tax (VAT), returns for that period amounting to Shs 13.6 billion instead of Shs 26 billion. This, according to the prosecution caused a tax loss in Value Added Tax of Shs 2.5 billion to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
The court has also heard that during the same time, they declared annual sales amounting to Shs 4 billion instead of Shs 26.8 billion hence a loss of Shs 1.4 billion to the tax collector, URA.
It is also alleged that they evaded tax and declared pay as you earn PAYE amounting to Shs 671.6 million instead of Shs 1.8 billion and in the aftermath, a tax of loss in PAYE amounting to Shs 1.1 billion was lost.
The suspects denied the charges and through their lawyer, Isaac Walukaga applied for bail pleading innocence and being responsible citizens with families to look after. Kioko, Namwanje, and Kasenge were each granted a cash bail of Shs 5 million and their sureties will sign a non-cash bond form of Shs 30 million each, not cash.
Muli and Drakuma were also each granted cash bail of Shs 20 million and their sureties Shs 100 million not cash. The case was adjourned to August 15 for an update on the progress of investigations.
Source: The Observer
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