The International Rhino Foundation shows a projected rhino poaching figure of 518, since 259 rhinos have been poached in the first six months of 2022. Picture: International Rhino Foundation
Johannesburg - As the world celebrated Rhino Day this week, a multidisciplinary law enforcement team nabbed several suspects in connection with wildlife crime, including rhino poaching.
This was after a law enforcement team on Thursday searched 11 private and business properties operated by individuals who were engaged in tax evasion and wildlife trafficking.
The team consisted of the Hawks wildlife trafficking section, the SAPS special task force unit, counter-intelligence, Asset Forfeiture Unit, SANParks, the Department of Environmental Affairs, the NPA, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) specialised debt, and a customs detector dog.
According to Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter, this was another strategy to deal with non-compliant taxpayers, actors and facilitators who are benefiting directly or indirectly from tax evasion and illicit financial flows stemming from wildlife crime.
“Several arrests were made including active SAPS members plus a seizure of assets and cash used in these criminal operations. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation further identified a number of trucks and vehicles suspected to be stolen,” said Kieswetter.
This, according to Kieswetter, resulted in notable successes including legal recovery, civil proceedings and criminal charges against a criminal syndicate involved in wildlife trafficking, which includes rhino poaching. He said legal actions mounted by Sars against members of the criminal syndicate include sequestration and forfeiture of the proceeds of crime.
He added that wildlife crime and illicit trade by transnational organised crime groups not only threaten the species, such as the rhino and pangolin, but also have a direct negative impact on the South African tourism industry, which contributes more than R268 billion (4.3%) of GDP annually and employs more than 1.1 million people.
“Environmental crimes and the illegal trade in natural resources are closely associated with financial crimes like tax evasion, tax fraud, money laundering, illicit financial flow, corruption, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. The illicit hunting of rhinos and trading in rhino horns constitutes a national as well as an international crime,” said Kieswetter.
According to the August 22, 2022 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) there were 22 137 rhinos, black and white, left in Africa at the end of 2021.
According to the Aspinall Foundation report released in 2018, the illegal rhino horn trade in eastern Asia still threatens the country. Poached rhino horns leave Africa through Mozambique and South Africa, mainly destined for Vietnam en route to China.
Other countries in eastern Asia, notably Laos and Myanmar, have become involved in the cross-border trade in rhino horn, mainly to meet Chinese demand, according to the report.
The foundation also reported that traffickers take advantage of weaknesses in governance all along the chain. In Africa and Asia, there is corruption among officials who are sometimes bribed to turn a blind eye to illegal transactions and shipments of rhino horns or are even more directly involved in the crimes.
According to WildLeaks, Vietnam and China are the primary consumers of rhino horn, with the supply coming largely from significant poaching in southern Africa.
According to the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), South Africa lost more than R1.3bn to rhino poaching from 2008 to 2015. The figure has reportedly risen since then.
Kieswetter said to strengthen cross-border enforcement, Sars continues to engage in enhanced co-operation with international tax and customs agencies abroad and collaboration with Interpol. He said this would include the World Customs Organization (WCO), the Task Force on Tax Crime (TFTC), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites).
“Tax evasion is an integral offence to money laundering. In this regard, Sars will continue to enhance its engagements with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), DPCI, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, and engagement with the South African Anti-Money-Laundering Integrated Task Force (SAMLIT),” said Kieswetter.