Businesswoman and fraud accused Shauwn Mpisane is considering hiring a senior advocate from Pretoria to represent her during her tax fraud trial this year.
The wealthy businesswoman, wearing a Zebra print dress with matching platform shoes and accessories, appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday where her lawyer, advocate Jimmy Howse, informed the court of this possibility and also asked for her bail conditions to be relaxed.
Mpisane faces 173 charges of fraud, forgery and uttering involving R4.7 million. The number of charges against her company, Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport CC, has increased from a provisional 59 to 173, with the amount involved up from R2.5m to R4.7m.
Mpisane has also been charged with contravening the Close Corporations Act by managing a business in spite of being disqualified from doing so because she had a previous conviction for fraud.
The charges relate to the period of April 2009 to March 2010 when, according to the preamble to the charges, she instructed her bookkeeper, Kishal Reddy, to submit VAT returns to Sars.
It is alleged that Reddy provided false copies of tax invoices to Sars from various clients for cash payments for services.
The first seven tax fraud charges (with tax evasion as an alternative) relate to the incorrect declaration of VAT, with a prejudice to Sars of R4.7m.
The balance of the fraud and forgery charges relate to the presentation of the forged tax invoices with a potential prejudice of R1.2m.
Reddy pleaded guilty in the Durban Magistrate’s court in July last year, to two charges of forgery and contravening the VAT Act.
He was fined R30 000 or six months’ imprisonment.
According to his plea, he said Mpisane had paid Prem Ramdutt, an employee at Art Printers, to generate the forged invoices for submission to Sars.
Ramdutt, 26, of Clare Estate, appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court last month and was charged for forgery and uttering as well as contravening the VAT Act. He is expected to appear in court in March for a trial date to be set.
He is out on R5 000 bail.
On Monday, Howse told the court they had received all the witness statements from the State, but required a further two statements taken recently from Sars employees.
State advocate Meera Naidu said these statements dealt with this case and another branch to this prosecution and would be provided to the defence. Outside court, the investigating officer asked Naidu to establish how the defence knew about these statements.
Howse asked magistrate Sharon Marks to relax Mpisane’s bail condition of having to report to a police station once a week as this was difficult due to her work commitments.
Marks agreed and the matter was provisionally adjourned to February 27 when it would be determined if the trial dates of April 25 and 26 were suitable.