SARS Targets Sasfin Bank in R5-billion Damages Claims over Alleged Tax Evasion Schemes

In an unprecedented legal challenge, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has mounted a R5-billion damages claim against Sasfin Bank, presenting a significant threat to the bank's stability and longevity. This action stems from billions in payments made by a variety of companies, many identified in earlier amaBhungane reports for their alleged involvement in money laundering and state capture activities.

The astonishment had hardly settled when in December, SARS laid down the gauntlet in the form of two high court claims in Pretoria, targeting Sasfin Bank for facilitating what it suggests was an elaborate tax evasion scheme. One claim demands R1.97 billion involving 18 companies, while the other hovers at R2.9 billion surrounding Gold Leaf Tobacco Corporation activities, a firm helmed by Zimbabwean mogul Simon Rudland.

Several of these entities are reportedly connected to notorious figures in illicit financial activities - Rudland, gold smuggler Andries Greyvenstein, and their associates including the late Sohail Jiwani and Mohamed Khan. Incidentally, these very figures were previously in amaBhungane's crosshairs.

The broader implication for South Africa's banking sector cannot be overstated, as SARS' assault on Sasfin could very well be the herald for similar actions against other financial institutions previously identified in laundering schemes.

The core of SARS' claims against Sasfin appears to centre on huge tax liabilities that remain unsettled, largely owing to the bank's alleged facilitation of hiding assets overseas through the use of purportedly spurious documents, with Khan implicated as a primary source.

In a striking twist, four Sasfin employees have been pinpointed for supposedly abetting the dubious plot. Sasfin, despite these striking accusations, maintains that the claims lack merit based on the legal advice it has received.

Gold Leaf's dealings are notably troublesome, indicated by Sasfin flagging them as 'high-risk' as early as 2016 and uncovering ten suspicious transactions in 2017. Alarmingly, these transactions continued for two months even after an internal probe validated their fraudulent nature.

Yet beyond Gold Leaf's well-trodden path lie the 18 other companies on SARS' radar, which purportedly channeled R5.3 billion through Sasfin. These include companies like Actinic Holdings, involved in pervasive money laundering across several banks, and Putzmeister SA, which allegedly orchestrated money outflow via a falsified court order.

Within this tangled web, we uncover links to the pervasive state capture facilitated by the Guptas, with entities like Zokubyte, Coral General Traders, and Varlozone implicated in shuffling funds out via Sasfin. While investigations continue to unravel these connections, it remains clear that SARS is committed to holding Sasfin accountable for its alleged role in these schemes.

As this saga unfolds, the certainty of Sasfin's future is held in the balance, challenging the integrity of a banking institution and setting a precedent for the responsibility and accountability of financial entities in the prevention of tax evasion and money laundering across South Africa.