Former Oki General Trading director Honey Khatwani has emerged at the center of a major tax dispute after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) pursued the company over alleged unpaid taxes amounting to Ksh827.4 million.
Documents presented before the Tax Appeals Tribunal indicate that the company has pointed fingers at Khatwani over several financial transactions and withdrawals allegedly carried out during the period he oversaw the firm’s financial operations between 2020 and 2024.
The tax demand issued by KRA comprises Ksh258.2 million in Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Ksh438.4 million in corporation tax, Ksh130.6 million in Value Added Tax (VAT) and Ksh44,877 in withholding tax.
According to the revenue authority, investigations into bank accounts held by the company at Ecobank and Absa allegedly uncovered withdrawals exceeding Ksh604 million made by company directors and staff members during the audit period.
KRA maintains that the withdrawals amounted to taxable benefits and earnings which should have attracted PAYE deductions under Kenyan tax laws.
In response, Oki General Trading argued that some of the disputed transactions involved irregular withdrawals and alleged misuse of company funds during Khatwani’s tenure as director.
The company further told the Tribunal that several matters surrounding the disputed funds are already the subject of separate criminal and commercial proceedings and therefore should not automatically be classified as employment income.
Khatwani is separately facing criminal charges linked to allegations that approximately KSh356 million was unlawfully siphoned from the company between January 2020 and June 2024 while he served as a director.
Court documents in the criminal proceedings allege that some of the company funds were redirected into personal accounts before allegedly being used to establish other businesses.
Apart from the withdrawals, KRA also accused the company of discrepancies involving imports and stock records.
The authority claimed that customs records reflected stock quantities that allegedly exceeded purchases declared in the company’s financial statements, raising concerns over undeclared imports and unpaid customs obligations.
KRA additionally faulted the company for allegedly failing to provide several supporting records during the objection process, including payroll information, employee contracts, forensic audit findings, stock reconciliation reports and transfer pricing documentation.
Following the review, the authority upheld the tax assessment through an objection decision issued on July 17, 2025, maintaining that the company had not supplied sufficient documentation to overturn the findings.
The Tribunal also received company registry records linked to related commercial disputes involving Sai Nath Ventures Limited.
Registry documents dated April 7, 2026 list Kamlesh Parwani and Metrine Vihenda as the company’s directors and shareholders, with the business registered along Waiyaki Way in Nairobi’s Parklands area.
