Julius Malema’s assets were attached following his failure to settle the R16 million tax bill after Sars obtained a court judgment against him.
The Sunday Independent was reliably informed by three sources that the sheriffs of the court attached assets at his Flora Park, Polokwane and Sandown, Joburg homes.
The sources, who are independent of each other, could not be named due to the legal sensitivities of the case.
Malema yesterday referred queries to his attorney Nicqui Galaktiou.
She could not be reached for comment.
It could not be independently verified whether the movable assets – such as cars and household contents, including furniture – were removed from his homes or not.
However, the attachment process doesn’t necessarily mean removal of attached assets but it includes assessment of the asset value and enables the sheriff to verify the ownership rights, especially in instances where the bond is registered against the assets.
This means the debtor, in this case Malema, is prevented from selling the assets during the attachment period.
The Sandton sheriff Daniel Bezuidenhout refused to comment and the Polokwane Sheriff’s office could not be reached for comment.
Sars spokesman Adrian Lackey said the taxman did “not wish to comment”
The Sunday Independent reported last month that the taxman obtained the judgment against Malema at the Pretoria High Court last month.
The judgment entitles Sars to seize Malema’s property, including his plush houses in Sandton and Polokwane and a farm outside the Limpopo capital.
Malema’s ally and controversial Limpopo businessman Lesiba Gwangwa, according to The Star newspaper, has surrendered his assets to Sars as a guarantee for his unpaid taxes worth millions of rand.
The newspaper quoted sources as saying Gwangwa offered his luxury properties and assets after the taxman reportedly obtained a tax evasion judgment against him.
Gwangwa and other businessmen, indirectly linked to Malema, appeared before a judicial tax inquiry earlier this year.
Malema, Gwangwa and other Limpopo business people were arrested by the Hawks and appeared in the Polokwane regional court last month on various criminal charges related to alleged questionable business activities involving state contracts.
Malema insisted that his case was a political plot because of his campaign against President Jacob Zuma’s bid to get a second term as ANC president. - The Sunday Independent