Kachikwu, a contender for the ADC presidency, clarifies claims of fraud and tax evasion in the US

The presidential candidate for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, refuted allegations of tax fraud and evasion in the United States against him on Wednesday, calling them false and politically motivated.

A US court had ordered the seizure of Kachikwu’s assets due to tax evasion, according to a report in an online daily.

Kachikwu had already been accused of fraud, according to the article, so he was not a first-time offender.

Kachikwu accused his political adversaries of running a smear campaign against him in a statement issued in reaction to the allegations.

According to the statement, “Yesterday, I received a barrage of calls and messages over a libellous and defamatory article published by an internet site called Peoples Gazette.

In addition to accusing me of tax cheating, the journal also claimed that I had given a former US congressman cash bribes. They are false. The details are as follows:

“A few days ago, my campaign team received information that one of the aspirants who lost out in the just concluded ADC presidential primaries was planning a series of smear campaigns against me.”

The presidential candidate asserted that, contrary to the information being circulated, the US Inland Revenue Service had already assessed him an additional $9 million and that he was not surprised by the finding.

“This amount was reduced to $2 million, and when the IRS filed a lawsuit to collect the debt, my attorneys chose not to dispute it, waiting instead for a default judgement before moving on to the next step, which entails submitting an offer in compromise to lower the amount owed.

“This is a standard legal practice in tax matters. People’s Gazette also claimed I was not a first-time offender having been previously indicted in a fraud case in 2009. He claimed I had delivered a $100,000 cash bribe to curry the favour of the former US congressman.

“This is another lie as multiple evidence abounds online clearly showing I was the victim who reported the US congressman to the EFCC and the FBI for defrauding my company”, he added.

Kachichuku asserted that the author of the “infamous blog” deliberately flipped the truth on its head in order to achieve a particular objective.

In an effort to injure him and damage his reputation, he alleged that they actively circulated the idea through various media.

“I have now given my attorneys the go-ahead to file lawsuits against all digital media outlets involved in the spread of this fraudulent information.

“They will also petition the police to arrest and prosecute all those who have breached the Cybercrime Act by using twitter to defame, harass and threaten me. I will no longer tolerate this persistent attacks from sore losers,” he said.