Not my call to charge former Sars officials, says Shaun Abrahams

National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams has said he had nothing to do with the decision to charge three former officials from the SA Revenue Service.

Freedom Under Law and others have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to consider suspending Abrahams over the decision to charge Ivan Pillay‚ Johann van Loggerenberg and Andries Janse van Rensburg.

Facing questions in Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday night‚ Abrahams said he was very pleased that the issue had been raised by the committee.

"There is this misconception that the National Director [of Public Prosecutions] was involved in the decision making in respect to this matter‚" Abrahams said.

"This decision was made by the Special Director of the Priority Crimes Investigations Unit in consultation with the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions of Pretoria. I am briefed on matters. I'm briefed on all high-profile matters‚ but I didn't make a decision in respect of this matter."

Pillay‚ Van Loggerenberg and Janse van Rensburg‚ who have denied any wrongdoing‚ have been served with summonses and are due to appear in court next month on charges of contravening the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

The charges relate to an alleged payment of R100‚000 to fellow SARS employee Hendrick Lombard. Lombard was one of two “whistle blowers” around an operation code-named Project Sunday Evenings‚ which they claim was to spy on the National Prosecuting Authority‚ which at the time was prosecuting former police commissioner Jackie Selebi.

Meanwhile lawyers for the three alleged that there were procedural irregularities in issuing them with the summonses to appear in court. Their lawyers claim that warning statements were not taken from them prior to them being summoned.

But Abrahams told Scopa that‚ as far as he was concerned‚ all the correct procedures had been followed.

"I have been advised by the prosecutor that warning statements were in fact made by the individuals concerned‚" he said. "I cannot provide the date that the warning statements were obtained but I have been advised warning statements were in fact obtained from the individuals concerned‚" Abrahams added.