Tax fraudsters in the slammer after eight years on the run

Nearly 17 years after they were sentenced for corruption and fraud, and after eight years on the run, two men have been arrested and are serving their seven-year prison terms in Klerksdorp, in the North West.

A third man convicted with them, Abraham van Wyk, died without serving any prison time. Rudi Willemse and Hein Fourie were taken into custody this month. Willemse is a former Sars employee.

Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter welcomed the arrests.

Willemse and two financial advisers, Fourie and Van Wyk, were each sentenced in the Klerksdorp magistrate’s court on July 30 2004 to three years' imprisonment for corruption and to seven years' imprisonment for fraud.

The sentences were to run concurrently so each accused would effectively serve seven years in prison.

Their conviction involved a refund for a false VAT input claim to the value of R2.7m submitted on behalf of an entity called Elandslaagte Mining in Klerksdorp. The claim was submitted for the alleged purchase of mining equipment which never took place and the Sars officials were bribed to approve the refund.

Initially there were seven suspects arrested, including three Sars officials.

However, the trials were separated after four of the accused pleaded guilty, while Willemse, Fourie and Van Wyk pleaded not guilty.

After their conviction in 2004, the three applied for leave to appeal their convictions. The appeal process took several years to be finalised, but in 2011 the high court in Pretoria denied their appeal. In 2013, the Supreme Court of Appeal also dismissed their appeal.

But the three failed to report to prison to begin serving their sentences.

Since 2013, there were several unsuccessful attempts to track down the three men. It was later established that Van Wyk had died.

In March this year,  Willemse and Hein were traced by Klerksdorp police and arrested.

Kieswetter said Sars was determined to ensure that its staff was beyond reproach. He said Sars will combat any criminal action on the part of its employees and citizens who try to defraud the fiscus of much-needed revenue.

“The South African public places enormous trust in Sars employees to execute their work dutifully and loyally, and the action of Mr Willemse betrays that trust,” Kieswetter said.

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