A Lawyer-turned-businessman accused of being part of a scam that defrauded the SA Revenue Service (Sars) of more than R100 million claimed tax returns using his dead wife’s particulars, court has heard.
Sars investigator Ansie Strydom would not budge under cross-examination at the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, yesterday that Maxwell Mavudzi fraudulently submitted tax returns using his late wife’s identity document.
Mavudzi, a qualified lawyer, represented himself in the trial. He stood alongside 12 co-accused and cross-examined Strydom.
The shackled lawyer, who did not receive bail in 2015 following arrest, accused Strydom of building Sars’ case on dishonesty and perjury.
Strydom rejected the accusations and maintained that while Annah Mavudzi died in 2008, her husband defrauded the revenue collector using her ID.
The State alleged that Mavudzi received the fraudulent VAT refunds through two companies, one of which was named Sisonke.
Mavudzi stood accused of acting in common purpose with 12 others, who include former ANC councillor Thabile Octavia Nkosi.
The Star previously reported that the 13 faced 391 counts of fraud. Sars alleged that they claimed and got paid for tax returns that were not due to their companies.
Strydom testified that she became aware earlier in her investigation that Mavudzi’s wife had died and therefore the tax returns under her name were fraudulent.
“When I did my (investigation) I was aware and I even speculated that she was deceased. So clearly, she could not have submitted returns,” Strydom told the court.
“These returns were submitted by accused number three (Mavudzi) and not his late wife.
“The SMS communication would have gone to the cell number ... which belongs to accused number three and indeed accused number three did receive communication from Sars for the e-filing.”
Mavudzi pressed Strydom on whether there was any evidence linking him to the use of his wife’s ID for e-filing registration. He put it to Strydom that she lied in her affidavit that he was linked to the ID.
Strydom responded that the email address and the cell number used for the tax returns were “linked to you”.
At this point, an agitated Mavudzi accused Strydom of side-stepping his question. “Do you need me to find you a translator Ms Strydom?” he asked.
“My question is simple: Do you see anywhere where my name is linked to that ID number, as you have said … in your affidavit?”
She replied: “I think what I have explained in detail is that it cannot be the late wife. It is Maxwell Mavudzi, the same person who approached me in February 2015 regarding the hold on the bank account.”
Concluding his questioning on this aspect, Mavudzi said: “Ms Strydom, the truth is that on the registration documents with Sars there’s nowhere where it shows that I used my wife’s ID number to register for e-filing.
“That is a fact. You cannot dispute that.”
Mavudzi and Strydom had earlier gone back and forth over whether she had authority to investigate the case.
Mavudzi insisted that a letter that Strydom had in her possession during the investigation proved she needed to be authorised to probe the matter.
Strydom testified that this letter was a mere internal formality and she was authorised to investigate by virtue of her job.
The trial continues.
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