High flyers in R11m Sars fraud case

Nine accused, including a former senior South African Revenue Services (Sars) official – who is also a former business partner of one of President Jacob Zuma’s wives – briefly appeared in the High Court in Pretoria for allegedly defrauding Sars of more than R11 million involving alleged tender irregularities. Mandisa Mokwena, cited as accused number one in the lengthy indictment, was previously general manager of the Sars risk management division. She was later appointed as group executive of the segmentation and research division of Sars. Mokwena was also a member of the Sars executive committee and a former business partner of first lady Thobeka Madiba Zuma.

She has since resigned from Sars, as well as from her business association with Zuma. Mokwena’s former personal assistant at Sars, Reneile Malati, is another of the accused, along with Leslie Moonsamy, a former cost centre manager at Sars. Mokwena obtained a doctorate from the University of Venda and accused Akinloye Akinboade was her external examiner. He was also the director of the school of economics at Unisa. His wife, Ashuma, is also an accused. She is a businesswoman. Accused Boateng Gyekye, a Ghanaian citizen, was Mokwena’s supervisor and mentor and the dean of the school of management sciences at the University of Venda.

The other accused are: Emile Djoumessi, who is according to the indictment, employed at Unisa; as well as Boitumelo Boshego, a businesswoman; and her sister, Maria Makofane, said to be a Unisa professor. The nine accused are facing charges under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, which include fraud, money laundering, racketeering and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act. A total of 57 charges are contained in the indictment, but the individuals accused are only facing certain of these charges. Mokwena resigned from Sars in December 2009, after disciplinary proceedings were instituted against her. The allegations levelled against her include that she, between September 2007 and up to the end of July 2009, in her capacity as the general manager of Sars’s risk management division, in a “corrupt manner” ensured that training and research tenders were awarded to her supervisor at Unisa, his wife and their companies. According to the indictment, this was done in return for assistance with her doctoral studies at Venda University.

The indictment says Mokwena, as a top Sars official, had access to confidential information which assisted the various accused to structure their quotes for the tenders in such a manner that she could recommend and motivate them to the Sars procurement division without raising suspicion. The accused have not yet been asked to plead and the case was postponed to March 23. All are out on bail.