CYRIL TACKLES MOYANE

Gordhan throws book at Sars boss Affidavit reveals case against him

SUSPENDED SA Revenue Service commissioner Tom Moyane is a serial lawbreaker, his conduct is unlawful and his continued presence at the helm of Sars threatens tax morality and could damage the key institution’s credibility.

This is according to an explosive affidavit by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, which has finally revealed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s case against Moyane.

The affidavit was filed on Wednesday after Ramaphosa missed last Friday’s deadline to reveal details of the case against Moyane before his disciplinary inquiry chaired by senior counsel Azhar Bham.

Ramaphosa suspended Moyane in March after informing him that he had lost confidence in his ability to lead Sars and offered him an opportunity to resign with immediate effect.

Moyane,who declined the offer, was replaced by the group executive responsible for relationship management within business and individual taxes, Mark Kingon, as acting commissioner.

Last month, Ramaphosa established a commission of inquiry headed by retired Supreme Court of Appeal judge Robert Nugent to focus on tax administrative issues such as VAT refunds and shortfalls in revenue in the past two financial years.

Gordhan’s affidavit shows that Moyane faced four charges, including failure to act against his former second-in-command Jonas Makwakwa, who was Sars’ chief officer for business and individual tax, and junior consultant Kelly-Ann Elskie following a confidential Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) report into suspicious and unusual cash deposits into their bank accounts.

According to Gordhan, who was finance minister until March last year and responsible for Sars, Moyane failed to timeously ensure that Sars immediately conducted investigations to report Makwakwa and Elskie to the police and the Hawks.

“Moyane, as Sars commissioner, was required to ensure that steps were taken timeously in response to the FIC report…

“Sars immediately conducted investigations to determine whether Makwakwa and Elskie were guilty of tax evasion, the commission of tax offences under the Tax Administration Act, the contravention of internal Sars policies and/or the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA),” Gordhan said in his 69-page affidavit.

Gordhan said Moyane failed to brief him on the FIC report despite Gordhan being the executive authority responsible for Sars.

“The allegations made in the FIC report were extremely serious, with the potential, if not handled correctly, to damage the credibility of Sars, tax morality and the collection of tax revenue,” Gordhan said.

The affidavit also stated that Moyane acted unlawfully by disclosing the contents of the report to Makwakwa and Elskie without obtaining permission from former FIC director Murray Michell, as this is prohibited by the FIC Act.

Moyane was also accused of accepting “without demur” investigations by law firm Hogan Lovells and assurance, advisory and tax services multinational PwC that were “patently inadequate”.

Gordhan’s affidavit also said Sars had failed to provide PwC with the information and documentation it required to conduct an effective probe.

“In doing so, it effectively sabotaged the investigation. In the result, the PwC investigation was largely meaningless and its findings inconclusive,” said Gordhan.

After the Hogan Lovells and PwC investigations, Moyane lifted Makwakwa’s suspension, an act which Gordhan believes was irrational and a gross dereliction of duty. Makwakwa quit in March this year.

Moyane is also accused of taking a unilateral decision to increase salaries and implement bonus payments to several senior executives without Gordhan’s approval.

Gordhan reported the matter to Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu, arguing it was a contravention of the Sars Act.

Moyane has also claimed he played no role in appointing eight debt collectors for 18 months in a deal worth more than R341 million. One of the companies that got a share of the debt collection contract was New Integrated Credit Solutions, which is owned by Moyane’s friend Patrick Monyeki.

Gordhan said Moyane concealed his role in approving the appointment of his friend’s company.

Moyane has two weeks to respond to Gordhan’s affidavit.