The Anti-corruption court presided over by Her Worship Esther Asiimwe yesterday January 10th remanded Tarus Stephen Kipkiyeny to Luzira prison up to 18th January 2023 over falsification of export documents.
The 57-year-old Kenyan National from Nandi County in the Rift Valley region is also a former Kenyan Internal Security Deputy Minister, High Commissioner of Kenya to Australia and Member of Parliament.
He was denied bail as 18th January was set as the date for mention of the case.
According to the Uganda Police charge sheet, Mr Kipkiyeny and others still at large, in or about January 2024 falsified URA customs export documents with receipt no. 872 dated 6th of January, 2024; invoice number CNO/16- 496/3 dated 5th of January 2024 and a bill of lading number 269322 dated 12th of August 2022.
The false documents were presented as genuine for the export of 13 kilogrammes of gold.
URA’s prosecutor Stuart Aheebwa said the issue of the [group] forging documents that they are from URA whereas not, is the reason they arraigned Mr Kipkiyeny in court and charged him accordingly.
Uganda Airlines, Jenifer Bamuturaki, and the Reckoning of 2025It is alleged that the accused received a payment of USD 1 million following the falsification of documents.
Smuggling and fraud remain the key customs offences.
Last year, URA recovered UGX 132.77 billion through customs country-wide enforcement operations, 130.50 billion was recovered through court arbitration and UGX 174.64 billion through tax investigations interventions.
Presenting false export documents is contrary to section 203 (b) of the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004 as amended. On conviction, a person making or using false documents shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to a fine not exceeding USD 10,000.
