A 47-year-old medical doctor has been arrested for allegedly committing fraud and contravening the Tax Administration Act. The arrest was made possible through a collaborative effort by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the South African Revenue Service (SARS), and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks, under the Honey Badger Project.
According to Lt-Col Avele Fumba, the provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, the doctor’s arrest followed the identification of discrepancies in the payment of tax by SARS during its routine assessments, which also raised suspicions of possible evasion. Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused had failed to submit personal income tax returns for the 2021-2023 years of assessment, despite receiving compliance letters from SARS.
He is expected to appear at the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court on 6 February 2025. The arrest is meant to remind all other perpetrators that non-compliance and committing tax fraud hold some ramifications before the law for the perpetrators.
