The government of Mauritius has said it is ready to enter into a deal where it will return all the Kenyan graft money that has been stashed in the island nation and have the individuals probed.
Mauritius is popular with rich people who keep their money in offshore accounts where regulations are more relaxed than in their home countries. If the deal is a success, Kenya will recover billions of shillings including wealth that was illegally obtained.
During a business forum between the countries in Nairobi, the secretary of foreign affairs in Mauritius Dwarka Canabady said the country is ready to enhance bilateral trade with Kenya and that the aforementioned deal is a possibility.
“I know that it is difficult to come up with such pacts. However, nothing is impossible. All Kenya needs to do is ask for such an agreement and we can discuss. Our Attorney General is aware of the possibilities of such discussions. You will remember that we are also signatories of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) tax treaty so sharing tax information with Kenya is not difficult,” she added.
Last month, Kenya and Switzerland signed a similar agreement which could see nearly Sh72 billion returned to the country.
Seeking Business Opportunities in Kenya
Canabady was in Kenya with a delegation of investors from thirty companies looking for business opportunities in Kenya.
Kenya has a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) with Mauritius, a deal that the Tax Justice Network-Africa (TJN-Africa), a lobby group that advocates for tax justice in Africa, has criticised.
“Under this agreement, foreign investors in Kenya can acquire Kenyan companies through Mauritius holding companies and Kenya cannot tax any of the gains when they sell these businesses again. This is open to abuse. Similarly, domestic Kenyan investors can dodge Kenyan taxes by round-tripping their investments illicitly through Mauritian shell companies,” TJN-Africa says in a statement on its website.
