Lawyer used late wife’s ID for tax returns – SARS
The Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) has heard that a lawyer-turned-businessman – accused of being part of a scam that defrauded SARS of more than R100m – claimed tax returns using his dead wife’s particulars.
According to a report in The Star, SARS investigator Ansie Strydom told the court that Maxwell Mavudzi fraudulently submitted tax returns using his late wife’s ID.
Mavudzi, a qualified lawyer, represented himself in the trial. He stood alongside 12 co-accused and cross-examined Strydom.
The shackled lawyer, denied bail in 2015 following his arrest, accused Strydom of building SARS’ case on dishonesty and perjury.
Strydom rejected the accusations and maintained Annah Mavudzi had died in 2008, but her husband defrauded the revenue collector using her ID.
The state alleges that Mavudzi received the fraudulent VAT refunds via two companies.
Strydom testified that she became aware earlier in her investigation that Mavudzi’s wife had died and therefore the tax returns under her name were fraudulent, ‘so clearly, she could not have submitted returns’.
‘These returns were submitted by accused number three (Mavudzi) and not his late wife.’
Mavudzi pressed Strydom on whether there was any evidence linking him to the use of his wife’s ID for e-filing registration.
He put it to Strydom that she lied in her affidavit that he was linked to the ID. Strydom responded that the email address and the cell number used for the tax returns were ‘linked to you’.
Concluding his questioning on this aspect, Mavudzi said: ‘Ms Strydom, the truth is that on the registration documents with SARS there’s nowhere where it shows that I used my wife’s ID number to register for e-filing.’
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
