By BAKANG MOKOTO
5 March 2025- Two people briefly appeared before the Molopo Magistrate’s Court on 5 March 2025, facing charges of fraud and contravention of tax administration Act on cases emanating from Project Expresso. The accused persons, Elias Koketso Mongale and Joyce Catherine Phiri, were arrested by the Mahikeng based Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation on Tuesday, following their alleged fraudulent activities in declaring their gross income to the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
The Hawks spokesperson in North West, Warrant Officer Amogelang Malwetse, said probe into the matter revealed that Joyce Catherine Phiri was registered with SARS for personal tax income. Malwetse said, however, Phiri allegedly failed to declare her gross income between the years 2016 to 2022.
“It is further alleged that she also omitted to submit returns for tax assessment, despite constant reminders from revenue officials. Reports indicate that in some instances, Phiri either under-declared her income or misrepresented herself by making false entries to evade tax.
“As a result, SARS suffered a total prejudice amounting to R1.9 million. Investigation revealed that Elias Mongale defrauded SARS by submitting personal income tax with false information that he received no taxable income between 2015 and 2022. As a result, SARS suffered a total loss of R1.8 million,” she said.
Malwetse further said they appeared before court and Phiri was released on R5000 bail, while Mongale was released on R3000 bail. She added that, both matters were postponed to 16 April 2025, for further investigation.
Meanwhile, the acting North West Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Brigadier Silas Munzhedzi and the Director of Public Prosecutions in North West, Dr Rachel Makhari, welcomed the arrest and commended the investigation and prosecution team for their collaborative efforts with SARS to fight tax corruption and ensure that perpetrators are brought to book.
The Guardian 