Mafioso Glenn Agliotti until recently touted his ability to solve the problems of wealthy tax defaulters for a hefty fee. But he now has a severe tax headache of his own.
On Thursday the South African Revenue Service (Sars) was due to begin confidential hearings into 10 years of alleged tax-law violations by the man accused of bribing police chief Jackie Selebi and orchestrating the murder of mining boss Brett Kebble.
It seems Agliotti has failed to declare his ill-gotten gains to Sars, even though he has disclosed them to the Scorpions, which in turn made them public in court.
The Pretoria High Court granted Sars a hush-hush order in mid-October authorising the hearings. The order, obtained by the Mail & Guardian, with accounts provided by people who have been briefed on the matter, suggest that Sars plans to question scores of witnesses as it probes irregularities dating back a decade.
The revenue service is prohibited from commenting on such inquiries, conducted in terms of section 74 (c) of the Income Tax Act, but the wide ambit of the probe means a number of people outside the service are familiar with it.
Of particular interest will be the more than R10-million which Agliotti and his partner-in-crime, Clint Nassif, have said in sworn statements to the Scorpions that he has taken from the Kebble family and companies they controlled in exchange for promises to influence Selebi, among others.
Among the witnesses expected to appear at the hearing, to be chaired by advocate PJ Marais, is Brett Kebble’s father, Roger, who allegedly paid R8-million to Agliotti in a fruitless effort to have his own mammoth tax bill reduced.
The inquiry will examine a raft of allegations against Agliotti, including failure to file tax returns for the past three years, failure to disclose income, shareholdings and dividends between 1998 and 2004 and failure to register as a VAT vendor.
Among the remedies the tax authorities are apparently seeking is the reversal of the sale of Agliotti’s house to Tania Volschenk, a close associate with business links to National Intelligence Agency chief Manala Manzini. Volschenk is suspected of acting as a facilitator in Agliotti’s efforts to sell his services as a tax fixer.
According to one informed source Sars may argue that the sale was a sham designed to hide an asset from creditors. As the M&G has reported, Agliotti continues to live in the house.
The Sars investigation was triggered last year by media reports about court papers lodged when Selebi attempted to forestall looming corruption charges by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The NPA response included affidavits by Agliotti detailing the millions he received from the Kebble empire.
Agliotti admitted to involvement in schemes which entailed promising wealthy tax defaulters that their problems could be resolved by paying off ”connections” at Sars.
The M&G has reported the ongoing involvement of his close associates, including Volschenk and accountant Delville Whatley, in a similar alleged scam which apparently drew in a Johannesburg construction entrepreneur and the controversial billionaire Dave King.
On Thursday the South African Revenue Service (Sars) was due to begin confidential hearings into 10 years of alleged tax-law violations by the man accused of bribing police chief Jackie Selebi and orchestrating the murder of mining boss Brett Kebble.
It seems Agliotti has failed to declare his ill-gotten gains to Sars, even though he has disclosed them to the Scorpions, which in turn made them public in court.
The Pretoria High Court granted Sars a hush-hush order in mid-October authorising the hearings. The order, obtained by the Mail & Guardian, with accounts provided by people who have been briefed on the matter, suggest that Sars plans to question scores of witnesses as it probes irregularities dating back a decade.
The revenue service is prohibited from commenting on such inquiries, conducted in terms of section 74 (c) of the Income Tax Act, but the wide ambit of the probe means a number of people outside the service are familiar with it.
Of particular interest will be the more than R10-million which Agliotti and his partner-in-crime, Clint Nassif, have said in sworn statements to the Scorpions that he has taken from the Kebble family and companies they controlled in exchange for promises to influence Selebi, among others.
Among the witnesses expected to appear at the hearing, to be chaired by advocate PJ Marais, is Brett Kebble’s father, Roger, who allegedly paid R8-million to Agliotti in a fruitless effort to have his own mammoth tax bill reduced.
The inquiry will examine a raft of allegations against Agliotti, including failure to file tax returns for the past three years, failure to disclose income, shareholdings and dividends between 1998 and 2004 and failure to register as a VAT vendor.
Among the remedies the tax authorities are apparently seeking is the reversal of the sale of Agliotti’s house to Tania Volschenk, a close associate with business links to National Intelligence Agency chief Manala Manzini. Volschenk is suspected of acting as a facilitator in Agliotti’s efforts to sell his services as a tax fixer.
According to one informed source Sars may argue that the sale was a sham designed to hide an asset from creditors. As the M&G has reported, Agliotti continues to live in the house.
The Sars investigation was triggered last year by media reports about court papers lodged when Selebi attempted to forestall looming corruption charges by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The NPA response included affidavits by Agliotti detailing the millions he received from the Kebble empire.
Agliotti admitted to involvement in schemes which entailed promising wealthy tax defaulters that their problems could be resolved by paying off ”connections” at Sars.
The M&G has reported the ongoing involvement of his close associates, including Volschenk and accountant Delville Whatley, in a similar alleged scam which apparently drew in a Johannesburg construction entrepreneur and the controversial billionaire Dave King.