Two men from the Free State who allegedly defrauded the South African Revenue Service (Sars) were granted bail in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on charges of contravening the Tax Administration Act.
Molefi Nephthali Tloome, 49, and Eguleme Dee Ebeye, 53, were arrested on Thursday, July 11, by members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as Hawks).
The provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Christopher Singo said a preliminary probe was conducted by Sars who uncovered the suspects’ alleged fraudulent activities where they submitted false Value Added Tax (VAT) returns.
“As a result of the fraudulent activities, Sars was prejudiced and suffered a total loss of more than R1.2 million. The incident took place between 2018 and 2020.
“The matter was then reported to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team based in Bloemfontein for further investigation, culminating in the arrest of the suspects and their first appearance in court,” Singo said.
During their appearance, the court granted Tloome R1,500 bail while Ebeye was granted R2,500 bail.
The matter has been postponed until August 2.
In a separate incident, three police officers were arrested for allegedly robbing a man of his cellphone after he entered an Engen garage at Jan Cilliers Park in Welkom, Free State.
In pictures seen circulating on social media platforms, two men and a woman are seen wearing SAPS bullet proof vests and SAPS masks entering a filling station.
A white police number-plated VW Polo sedan allegedly used by the members was also captured flashing blue lights.
At the time, national police spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said preliminary investigation revealed that on July 1, two constables and a sergeant pulled over the vehicle and ordered the 44-year-old mineworker to step out of the car.
The man refused and drove to the nearest filling station where the members followed him. It was during that period when the police officers allegedly grabbed the victim's cellphone and sped off.
IOL