A Durban man who pleaded guilty to defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of more than R14 million was handed a 13-year sentence.
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A Durban man who pleaded guilty to defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of more than R14 million was handed a 13-year sentence.
Rubishen Munsamy, 41, the sole director of a clearing agent, also pleaded guilty to 14 counts of fraud and contravention of the Customs and Excise Act in the Durban Regional Court recently.
He was sentenced to three years of correctional supervision and 10 years' imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he pays SARS R12,363,161 within five days of the sentence date.
He also had to pay SARS R6 million within 12 months of the sentence date and a further R1.5 million to the Criminal Asset Recovery Account within five days of the sentence date.
His clearing agent was sentenced to pay a fine of R500,000, wholly suspended for five years on condition that it is not convicted of fraud or contravention of the Customs and Excise Act.
Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo, spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in KwaZulu-Natal, said that between September 2018 and October 2019, Munsamy’s clearing agent was contracted to clear imported goods.
He said the client supplied the necessary documents to his clearing agent and Munsamy framed a draft import bill of entry.
“He presented it to his client for the payment of customs duties and value added tax. The client paid him the requested amount, however, Munsamy altered the description of the goods when he was submitting to SARS.
“As a result the due taxes were drastically reduced and SARS suffered a financial loss of R14 711 077, 60 in respect of 14 shipments he was instructed to clear,” he said.
Mhlongo said an internal investigation was conducted by SARS and a case of fraud was reported at Point police station.
“The case docket was then allocated to Hawks members from the Durban Serious Commercial Crime investigation unit for further probing.
“In November 2024, Munsamy was summoned to appear before court. After several court appearances, he pleaded guilty on 14 counts of fraud and contravention of Customs and Excise Act.
“The work of the Hawks, SARS, and the National Prosecuting Authority is commended as the sentence imposed by the court serves as a deterrence to would-be criminals,” he said.