Moyane says taxman will take legal action against ‘Gupta’ firm

South African Revenue Service (Sars) Commissioner Tom Moyane has slammed auditing firm KPMG and would be taking legal action against the company for “reputational damage” caused to the state entity.

An irate Moyane was briefing the media in Pretoria yesterday, following statements issued by KPMG international on Friday, where the auditing firm withdrew conclusions and recommendations on their alleged “rogue unit” report.

Moyane was “taken aback” by KPMG’s “aberrant and unethical conduct” since the report was withdrawn, despite a service legal agreement between the firm and Sars. He said the “unprofessional and unlawful conduct” by KPMG has left Sars with no choice but to take legal action.

The legal route, Moyane explained, would include reporting “KPMG to the minister of finance with the aim to blacklist KPMG for its unethical, immoral, unlawful and illegal behaviour” and to “immediately seize any work which KPMG is currently performing for Sars and assess the work KPMG has performed in the last ten years”.

“Sars sees KPMG’s conduct as nothing else but a dismissal attempt to portray Sars, its leadership and, in particular, the Sars commissioner as incompetent, corrupt, inefficient and involved in a witch-hunt. This is the same narrative that has been perpetuated for years by some treacherous elements within society and the media.”

He said Sars was handed the report by the firm in late 2015, and made final on January 26, 2016, showing that this was done long after criminal cases were opened and evidence provided to the Hawks and police, Moyane said.

But he said there was evidence to support the establishment of the “rogue unit”, referring to the Sikhakhane Commission and the Kroon report, with the former finding that axed senior officials Ivan Pillay and Johann van Loggerenberg were allegedly implicated in unlawful conduct.

“We can confirm from reports that we have and would like to stand by these reports that there is prima facie evidence that the unit existed until I disbanded it. I can confirm that members of that unit were surfaced and had to go through a process of debriefing and brought back into the organisation.”

At the same briefing, ANC whip in the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) Nyami Booi said the watchdog had taken exception to KPMG’s conduct.

“We take serious exception to the way KPMG has handled this matter. This is taxpayers’ money, not their money. Scopa has always looked at why taxpayers’ money has to be wasted, and not be accounted for. We will be going into the matter.”