SARS advised not to release Makwakwa report

SARS says it is ‘not opposed’ to releasing the reports of the investigation into suspicious and unusual transactions into the account of its second-in-charge, Jonas Makwakwa, but has received legal advice that it should not do so, says a Business Day report. The Makwakwa saga has dragged on for more than a year after it emerged that the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) had flagged R1.2m in suspicious and unusual transactions into Makwakwa’s account and that of his girlfriend, Kelly-Ann Elskie. SARS appointed law firm Hogan Lovells to investigate the matter and this month announced that Makwakwa – who had been on suspension for more than a year – had been cleared of all charges and would return to work. More questions emerged on the matter when Hogan Lovells released a statement, saying it ‘did not directly’ investigate the questionable transactions because the mandate it received from SARS was ‘limited’. Business Day says it has seen a proposal for the terms of reference from Hogan Lovells that does, in fact, deal with the transactions signed off by SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane. This, it suggests, could indicate there is something amiss in the manner in which the probe was conducted. In a statement yesterday, SARS said it has received numerous requests from Parliament, civil society and the media to disclose the reports about the Makwakwa matter and ‘in principle’ it was not opposed to releasing them. ‘However, legal provisions of the FIC Act do not allow the disclosure of a South African citizen’s personal information arising from an FIC suspicious report,’ SARS said. ‘In fact, SARS has sought legal guidance on this matter. We have been advised there could be a legal challenge in the event that SARS releases any of the two reports mentioned.’