Top SARS sleuth admits: we ran a rogue unit
Sunday Times reports were true, investigator admits to his boss in ’confession’ letter
SOUTH African Revenue Service investigator Johann van Loggerenberg wrote a “confession” letter to new commissioner Tom Moyane, admitting that Sunday Times reports were spot-on because the agency did have a rogue unit that followed one of its managers who had several meetings with President Jacob Zuma.
The Sunday Times reported last month that the unit, headed by a former National Intelligence Agency (NIA) operative known as Skollie, bugged Zuma’s private home in Forest Town, Joburg, on the eve of the ANC conference in Polokwane.
In his letter sent to Moyane last month, the enforcement and risk executive conceded to having drafted the intelligence unit’s policy document, known as the “rules of play”.
Van Loggerenberg also sensationally accused SARS chief officer for enforcement Gene Ravele of lying about his knowledge of the unit’s activities, claiming he personally asked him to deploy its members to patrol his private home.
Responding to the Sunday Times story, he implored Moyane to demand affidavits under oath from Ravele and Godfrey Baloyi, claiming they had lied when they claimed to have no idea about the entity, officially known as the National Research Group (NRG).
Van Loggerenberg claimed they had approved the unit’s budgets and bonus payments between 2008 and 2011.
“I submit their denials are disingenuous and improper as it reflects very negatively on SARS and its employees.
“Once they have deposed such affidavits, I will provide irrefutable evidence to the con- trary which I submit they must then explain to SARS,” said Van Loggerenberg.
He said that during his brief tenure as SARS’s enforcement executive in 2011, Baloyi was responsible for all cost centres in the division, including 502031, which was used to bankroll the unit.
“This means he would have to sign off on the annual budget forecast for this cost centre, head count and would have had to view the monthly, quarterly and annual expenditure reports of this cost centre. The same applies to Ravele.”
Last month, the Sunday Times reported that a former spymaster known as “Skollie” had blackmailed SARS into paying R3-million in exchange for his silence after he threatened to go public about the rogue entity’s illegal activities.
These included bugging Zuma’s private home, intercepting his meeting with former SARS general manager Leonard Ra- debe and following Radebe to a meeting with Zuma at the Beverly Hills Hotel near Durban.
But Van Loggerenberg denied that they planted a bug in Zuma’s private home.
At the time, Zuma was the frontrunner to succeed Thabo Mbeki in a bitter succession battle for control of both the ANC and the country.
Van Loggerenberg, to whom Skollie reported, further claimed that Ravele used the unit for his personal benefit.
“One such tasking, I might add, was that the HRIU [High Risk Investigative Unit] should frequent his house for a particular period after he had become aware of certain suspicious activities at his home. This was done and registered as an ‘ad hoc’ project in the operations dashboard of the unit.”
This letter came weeks before advocate Muzi Sikhakhane, who has been appointed by SARS to probe damning allegations made against Van Loggerenberg, submitted his report to Moyane this week.
The probe followed allegations by Van Loggerenberg’s former lover, attorney Belinda Walter, that he had disclosed confidential taxpayer information to her when they were romantically involved.
Asked for comment, SARS spokesman Adrian Lackay said: “Advocate Sikhakhane and the external panel of investigation must be allowed to conclude its work independently and present its findings to SARS.
“SARS has committed previously that the panel’s findings and any actions by SARS that may arise from the panel’s findings will be made public.
“Until such time it would be inappropriate for SARS to make public statements on the matter at this time.”
While Van Loggerenberg admitted to following Radebe, he said the surveillance had nothing to do with Zuma.
He claimed it was part of an official probe — sanctioned by former SARS commissioner Pravin Gordhan, his deputy Ivan Pillay and Ravele — into Radebe’s secret meetings with then tax evader Dave King, wherein fraudulent tax settlements were allegedly discussed.
Van Loggerenberg said he and SARS executive Clifford Collins subsequently obtained an affidavit from Radebe, who denied any contact with King and convicted drug dealer Glenn Agliotti.
“I explained that the NRG would be utilised to follow Mr Radebe after one such interview with a view to determine whether he would meet with Mr King or any other subjects identified right after the meeting,” he said.
“This was done because Mr Radebe would not have been able to recognise them.”
He said he ultimately submitted a legally sound report to Gordhan as requested after the unit established that Radebe had met “a lady at a News Cafe restaurant” in Joburg.
“This was the only surveillance conducted on Radebe.”
While “emphatically” denying bugging Zuma, Van Loggerenberg conceded that some of the unit’s members had been at the president’s private home. However, he claimed they were there as part of the Scorpions’ 2005 raid on Zuma before his corruption trial.
“On October 14, when I asked whether any of the former NRG staff were ever at the Forest Town residence, and why [Mike Peega] might be alleging this, some members recalled distinctly that former DSO/Scorpions used to talk about the incident frequently at a stage during informal discussions — but with reference to the incident in 2005. Not the SPU [Special Projects Unit], nor the NRG nor the HRIU was ever near the home of President Zuma in any way or form.”
Van Loggerenberg said the minutes of the unit’s January 12 2008 meeting were authentic, but claimed the Sunday Times quoted selectively from them.
He admitted they submitted a multimillion-rand equipment “wish list”, but disputed the R546-million figure, claiming it was a “typing error”.
“The amount of R546-million as reflected in the minutes is a typing error, and most likely refers to one of these ‘wish lists’ at the time, which would have been in the amount of R54-million for a projected period of four years.”
Van Loggerenberg denied that SARS bought surveillance equipment for the unit.
He added that the unit’s 2008 budget was R12-million.
“There were no ‘secret cost centres’ or ‘codes’. The proposal submitted on payment of sources/informants was similarly never dealt with,” he said, even though the unit minutes seen by the Sunday Times show that “the cost centre isn’t known”.
The unit specialised in penetrating crime syndicates engaged in smuggling cigarettes, drugs, rhino horn and ivory.
However, the Sunday Times previously revealed that it illegally intercepted the phone calls and e-mails of targeted taxpayers.