Dodgy bookkeeper jailed for R8m in tax fraud

The luck of a dodgy tax practitioner has run out after he was found guilty of attempting to defraud the South African Revenue Service (Sars) of over R8-million.

Seshin Naraidu‚ a bookkeeper from Johannesburg‚ was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by the Johannesburg High Court on Monday after a drawn-out legal battle that lasted almost four years.

Advocate Azwindini Mulaudzi‚ for the state‚ submitted that Naraidu had made and signed false statements regarding Value Added Tax (VAT) returns for the period ending April 2010.

The charge sheet stated that SARS had suffered potential prejudice in the amount of more than R8.3-million.

He was found guilty of fraud and contravening the Value-Added Tax Act no. 89. He processed false payments for a business belonging to Cameroonian national‚ Pierre Mbom.

Sars spokesperson Sicelo Mkosi confirmed the sentencing of Nairadu. He also confirmed that Mbom had "absconded”. He could not verify if Nairadu was a former Sars employee.

He could not verify if Nairadu was a former Sars employee.

"I have checked‚ but I can't find anything on our system. I cannot however rule out the possibility [that] he could be a former employee who left a long time ago‚" he said.

Mbom was the sole owner of a clothing and shoe business. During the tax period in question‚ Mbom’s business had submitted returns wherein it recorded that it had incurred VAT of over R10-million‚ and therefore claimed a refund.