Durban woman jailed for 18 years for R3.7m Sars Vat fraud
· Citizen
A 53‑year-old woman has been sentenced to 18 years in jail for defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of more than R3.7 million through fraudulent VAT claims, a ruling prosecutors say underscores the seriousness of tax crimes that undermine the government’s ability to deliver essential services.
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Khanyisile Casianna Gumede appeared in the Durban Regional Court this week, where the sentence was handed down.
Conviction
Casianna was convicted on five counts of fraud involving approximately R3.7 million and one count of money laundering.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Gumede’s company, GG Catering and General Services CC, was also sentenced to a R2 million fine, wholly suspended for five years on condition that the company is not convicted of fraud, theft, or an attempted fraud or theft committed during the period of suspension.
“The company was registered with the South African Revenue Service for Value-Added Tax (VAT), with Gumede serving as its VAT representative. Between February 2018 and October 2018, Gumede submitted fraudulent VAT returns on behalf of the company by inflating input tax and declaring nil output tax.”
False declarations
Ramkisson-Kara said these false declarations resulted in unlawful VAT refunds, despite the company not trading during that period and therefore not incurring any qualifying expenses.
“As a result, SARS suffered a loss of over than R3.7 million. After receiving the fraudulent refunds, Gumede used the funds for various purposes, including settling a debt owed by the company. The fraud was uncovered during a SARS investigation.”
Trial
During the trial, Advocate Zinhle Mthembu led the evidence of five witnesses, including SARS officials and a former employee of Gumede.
In aggravation of sentence, the State called a SARS criminal investigator, who testified that VAT fraud is a widespread problem.
The investigator informed the court that SARS had suffered a loss of R3.7 million, none of which had been recovered.
Ramkisson-Kara said the witness further explained that SARS is responsible for collecting revenue on behalf of the government and that fraud against SARS directly undermines the government’s ability to deliver essential public services.
Sentencing
“In sentencing, the court treated the five counts of fraud as one for purposes of sentence. Gumede was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for the fraud convictions and 10 years’ imprisonment for money laundering.
“The court ordered that seven years of the money laundering sentence run concurrently with the fraud sentence, resulting in an effective sentence of 18 years’ direct imprisonment. She was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
Judgement welcomed
The NPA welcomed the successful conclusion of the case, highlighting the strong collaboration between prosecutors, SARS and the Saps in tackling tax fraud.
“The NPA commends the prosecutors, SARS investigators and SAPS officials whose dedication and professionalism contributed to this successful outcome,” Ramkisson‑Kara said.
Ramkisson‑Kara stressed that fraud, tax evasion and money laundering undermine South Africa’s economic stability, deprive the fiscus of vital revenue, and weaken government’s ability to deliver essential services.