A court has appointed a curator to sell off the assets of controversial businessman Roux Shabangu, who has only paid a fraction of his undisputed R21.5m tax debt to the SARS while splurging millions of rands on restaurants, clothes and hotels, reports Fin24.

The Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) authorised a curator to ‘dispose of any or all’ of Shabangu's assets, as well as those of the Roux Shabangu Family Trust.

According to SARS, Shabangu has only paid R75 000 of the R21.5m he owes in back taxes.

The trust has not paid anything towards the R7m it owes.

The tax agency told the court that, at the same time that it was demanding payment from Shabangu, he was spending around R1m a month on ‘personal expenses’.

He was also paying off financing on an array of luxury cars, including a BMW X7 M5 and a BMW X6 M Competition.

The court heard that there are 15 vehicles linked to Shabangu on eNatis, the country's national car register.

SARS has been on the trail of Shabangu and his companies since late 2012, when it first issued him with an additional assessment of R6.4m for unpaid VAT and income tax.

The Mpumalanga-born businessman rose to prominence in 2011 when it emerged that his Roux Property Fund was involved in a R500m deal to provide office space to the SAPS in Pretoria. 

An investigation by then-Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found the deal was ‘fatally flawed’.

The resulting scandal led to the establishment of a board of inquiry to test then-Police Commissioner Bheki Cele’s fitness for office.

In 2012, former President Jacob Zuma fired Cele. The President's decision was set aside in 2019.

According to the SARS, the R6.4m debt it identified in 2012 has since ballooned to around R65m.

This includes the debts owed by Shabangu and his family trust, as well as R36.3m owed by his company, Majestic Silver, which is in business rescue.

High Court Judge Norman Davis noted that Shabangu's tax debt is ‘undisputed’.

This meant he did not have to rule on whether Shabangu, his family trust, and Majestic Silver actually owe this debt to the SARS. He only had to decide whether Shabangu’s assets should be preserved and liquidated by the curator to repay the debt.

Davis agreed with the SARS that there was evidence that the businessman's assets were already being dissipated.

The ruling does not, however, cover Majestic Silver, reports Fin24.

While the company was mentioned multiple times in the court case, it is the subject of a separate court action. Whatever the curator makes from the asset auctions will not be transferred to SARS immediately, however.

The proceeds will first be placed in a trust. SARS will then need to apply to court to have the funds released.

Full Fin24 report