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Pretoria - Tax fraud worth several millions has been exposed in a comprehensive investigation by the South African Revenue Service (Sars).
Seven people have already been arrested in connection with the fraud, after three women were seized at the police training college in the west of Pretoria on Thursday.
Sars and the police's special investigation unit, the Hawks, received information that the women were there, and swooped down on them.
The women were persuading young recruits to submit false claims. Another suspect, a chartered accountant at one of the country's top auditing firms, allegedly fled when he heard of the arrests.
Sars spokesperson Adrian Lackay said it was supposedly the work of a syndicate colluding with staff at the revenue office.
These fraudsters allegedly claimed to be tax consultants, targeting lower income groups in particular with promises of refunds from Sars.
The "consultants" would submit false claims for, inter alia, travel allowances and medical disability expenses on behalf of the taxpayers.
Lackay said Sars had received claims for travel allowances from people who did not even own a car, as well as claims for medical expenses from people with no disabilities.
He said 40% of the people being targeted were public servants, and the rest in the private sector.
Sars has sent out 36 000 letters to people in which they have been informed that, according to the revenue office's system, they received unlawful refunds.
These people now have to submit documentary proof for their claims. If they cannot, Sars will adopt an approach other than prosecution if they supply information that can lead to more arrests.
But they will have to pay Sars back for the illicit refunds. The fraud amounts to several millions and holds a significant risk to the fiscus, said Lackay.
Sars has warned taxpayers not to become victims of questionable tax consultants.
- Sake24
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