Hawks arrest Cape Town trio for R299 million tax fraud

Three suspects between the ages of 55 to 65 are expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrates court soon on multiple charges of fraud surpassing R299 million.

Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant, Colonel Philani Nkwalase, said the trio were served with court summons (J175) by the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team on Friday and Monday for their alleged involvement on a series of tax and VAT evasion.

“The suspects worked under the same company over the period between 2010 and 2016. In the process of performing their duties they have on diferent occasions, reportedly submitted false tax and VAT document to the South African Revenue Service (SARS).”

He said it was further alleged that in the same period fraudulent tax clearance certificate documents were submitted to gain security tenders from local government procurement processes.

“They will appear in court on the 27 January 2022 facing an assortment of fraud charges, more arrests are imminent,” he said.