Johannesburg - In a major breakthrough, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) has arrested six people who allegedly attempted to defraud the country’s tax system of more than R266 million.
According to Sars spokesman Luther Lebelo, the two women and four men, who were representing a South African-registered company, tried to claim the R266 230 423 as value added tax from the revenue service earlier this year. They were arrested in Pretoria on Wednesday.
“According to the company, they paid an amount of R266 230 423 to their employees and were seeking to claim this figure as a VAT refund,” said Lebelo.
Following this, he said, Sars suspected that the company was trying to defraud the tax system and requested documents to support the refund. “The documents confirmed that the refund was indeed fraudulent,” said Lebelo.
“With the assistance of the SAPS, the group were arrested at the Sars head office in Pretoria on Thursday on charges of fraud,” said Lebelo.
The group might also be linked to other crimes, he said. “Early indications suggest that the group’s alleged criminal activities are not solely limited to fraudulent VAT refunds, but also include building and company hijackings.”
A source said the people arrested were directors of a private company called the South African Community Government Union.
On its website, the company describes itself as a “Constitutional Corporate Monarchy” which “holds State & Government in place”. A description of the company online states that it oversees “the multinational people of the Republic of South Africa”. It has apparently been in existence since November 2001.
The Star