Accountant, tax consultant convicted of R16m in Sars fraud

A Western Cape accountant has been convicted of R16m fraud tax fraud.

The Thembalethu magistrate's court on Wednesday convicted Ndileka Precious Mfunda and the owner of a tax company that was contracted by various municipalities in the province.

Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said the directorate had been investigating Mfunda, 55, and Mzanele Major Sekopo, 48, the owner of the Major General Trading CC, since 2016.

“It is alleged that Mfunda, was a Sars accountant hired by Major General CC as consultant and submitted fraudulent claims to Sars the South African Revenue Services (SARS) for the years 2009-2014,” said Hani.  “Mfunda’s duties were to do the audit and interact with the municipalities on behalf of Major General CC.”

The company had a contract with the Bitou, , Oudtshoorn and Ventersdorp municipalities. It administered their tax returns and submitted them to Sars.

Hani said an “extensive investigation revealed that they also submitted false returns and also did not declare nor pay their personal tax”.

 “Major General Trading CC ‘earned’ 25% commission on all amounts saved by the municipalities,” she said.  

“It is further reported that their alleged fraudulent conduct prejudiced Sars cash amounting to over R16m as the money was successfully paid to the business account. 

"The company was subjected to a tax auditing process where discrepancies were detected. Sars reported the matter to the Hawks for probing, which culminated in their arrest.”

Mfunda and Sekopo will return to court on July 20 for sentencing.  

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