Pretoria - Two people, who are allegedly linked to an illicit gold industry syndicate, have been granted bail of R50 000 each by the Nigel Magistrates Court, said the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
Clint Dixon and Leo Agbakwuru were granted bail on Monday. The two were arrested on Friday by the Hawks following an investigation by SARS’ enforcement division face charges of fraud as well as other serious tax offences.
“The syndicate allegedly fabricated fraudulent documentation reflecting purchases of second-hand jewellery amounting to R50 million. The fictitious purchases were used in claiming a fraudulent 14% notional VAT input over the period of 2011 to 2013. SARS suffered an actual prejudice in excess of R5 million due to this scheme,” said the revenue service.
The two men first appeared in court on Friday. Their case has been postponed to 3 November.
Dixon is currently in court on two other cases related to tax non-compliance.
These are the first arrests in this particular syndicate, which has followed a similar modus operandi to the Bezuidenhout group which was bust by SARS investigators earlier this year.
The Bezuidenhout syndicate is alleged to have fabricated over 16 000 fraudulent invoices (worth about R437 million) to reflect purchases of second-hand gold jewellery. These fictitious purchases were used in claiming a fraudulent 14% notional VAT input over the period of 2010 to 2012, as well as understating their sales during the same period.
The case against the five members of the Bezuidenhout group has been postponed to 30 October 2015 for further investigation.
“SARS appreciates the cooperation it receives from other government agencies, such as the SAPS, and will continue to work closely with all law enforcement bodies in our fight against crime.
“Members of the public are warned that the creation of tax evasion schemes, organised crime efforts to siphon funds from the fiscus and tax evasion will not be tolerated and SARS has the capacity and capability to deal with these threats,” said SARS. - SAnews.gov.za
