KRA eyes forensic lab to recover erased files and catch tax cheats

Kenya Revenue Authority officers inspect cartons of alcoholic drinks worth Sh6m bearing fake excise duty stamps at a private residence-turned go-down in the outskirts of Nkubu in Meru County. [File]

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) plans to set up a forensic lab to mine all data including hidden accounts and deleted files from taxpayers’ computers to uncover tax and financial frauds.

Tax sleuths investigating cases of tax evasion anywhere in the country may soon be armed with the cyber forensic lab facilities as KRA hopes to build water-tight evidence against those it takes to courts. The taxman’s move comes in response to the rising trend among individuals and businesses to switch from paper-based accounting systems to electronic record-keeping in what has become problematic to catch tax dodgers. KRA says it is searching for a consultant to supply, deliver, implement and commission a digital forensic laboratory in what is going to rattle those who have been riding on digital underworld to evade taxes.