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Sars 'purge' a Christmas gift for underworld

Johannesburg - Suspects of organised crime seem to be the big winners of a massive "purge" at the SA Revenue Service (Sars), reported Adriaan Basson on netwerk24.com on Wednesday.

Beeld newspaper, part of Netwerk24, has in its possession a list of investigations which Sars were pursuing when Tom Moyane, the new Sars commissioner, abruptly closed the unit last month.

These investigations include:

- Project Zanadu, investigating the operations of the Mpisi group, which has links with President Jacob Zuma's cousin Khulubuse;

- Project Knight Rider, which had to investigate the assets and associated of alleged Czech mafia boss Radovan Krejcir;

- Project Prince, investigating the activities of prince Sam Hamade, who claims to be an "honorary army colonel" and Lebanese prince;

- Project Goldfinger, which investigated Krejcir's and Hamade's alleged involvement in gold smelting;

- Ad hoc projects investigating the illegal tobacco industry and Nigerian 419 scams.

Moyane suspended Johann van Loggerenberg, Sars' head of investigations, last month after an investigation by adv. Muzi Sikhakhane allegedly found that his investigation unit had "illegally" gathered intelligence.

Two weeks ago Ivan Pillay, Moyane's deputy, and Peter Richer, group head of risk and strategic planning, were also suspended by Moyane because of the activities of the investigation unit.

Questions about the real reasons for the suspensions have been raised after City Press reported on the weekend that Pillay was busy determining how much tax Zuma had to pay for the state's R246 million upgrade of Nkandla.

READ: Senior officials purged from Sars

The Mail & Guardian reported that Pillay had refused to exonerate the ANC from having to pay customs tax on an order of thousands of T-shirts before the May election. 

Pillay and Richer are bringing an urgent application in the Labour Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday to set their suspensions aside. Their removal is regarded as part of a large scale "purge" of the confidants of Pravin Gordhan, former head of Sars, according to a senior official.

READ: Sars head studying rogue unit reports

The court will apparently be informed that the investigation unit houses investigations of "national importance" and that South Africa and the economy will suffer if Moyane's "purge" at Sars continues.

The Sunday Times earlier this year reported about alleged "illegal" activities of the "rogue" investigation unit of Sars.

Pillay, Van Loggerenberg and Richer are strongly denying these allegations and Beeld understands that a number of complaints in this regard have already been submitted to the press ombudsman.

* For the full article and more news in Afrikaans, visit Netwerk24.


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