Sars and police pounce on Shauwn Mkhize’s assets

Controversial businesswoman faces allegations of tax evasion.

Alleged tax evader Shauwn Mkhize felt the long arm of the law on Tuesday (26 November) when the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) swooped on her home in an affluent Durban suburb.

Mkhize reportedly has tax debts of close to R40 million. A preservation order and search-and-seize warrant were obtained to prevent the dissipation of assets and to gather evidence.

ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW Read: Sars, have you taxed that Aston Martin? Hawks and Sars on the hunt Sarb’s new-found zeal for asset forfeiture

Mkhize has made every effort over the years to contest Sars’s tax claims and to delay enforcement actions.

She has a mansion in La Lucia, as well as a farm and some luxury vehicles. Sars and members of the police pounced on the three-storey house in La Lucia where property values range between R3 million and R12 million.

Some of the accusations levelled against the controversial businesswoman and owner of the Royal Eagles football club is that she and her associates under-declared income.

According to previous reports, she reached a settlement agreement with Sars, but it appears she did not honour the agreement.

Previous attempts to seize assets were unsuccessful.

Mkhize and her former husband’s company received government tenders worth over R1bn in the early 2000s despite criminal investigations against the couple. Image: Mkhize’s Facebook page

Some of the assets, such as luxury vehicles, are held in a trust called the Shandi Trust.

Construction industry crackdown

The flamboyant Mkhize started a construction business called the Zikhulise Group, as well as several other businesses – including Zikhulise Maintenance and Transport, Zikhulise Auto Recoveries and Inyanga Trading.

Moneyweb previously reported that Mkhize and her former husband Sbu Mpisane’s company, Zikhulise Cleaning Maintenance and Transport Service, received government tenders worth over R1 billion in the early 2000s. This was despite ongoing criminal and other investigations against the couple.

Mkhize’s assets include a mansion in La Lucia, a farm, and several luxury vehicles. Image: Instagram/ @kwa_mammkhize

In 2020, the Pretoria High Court issued a final liquidation order against Mkhize’s company for outstanding debts totalling about R204 million.

In an attempt to retrieve the tax debt, Sars tried to seize some of her and her then-husband’s assets, which included the three-storey home in La Lucia, a farm in KwaZulu-Natal and some luxury vehicles.

The courts at the time made several references to the conduct of the company, which benefitted from state funding yet avoided its tax obligations.

Tenderpreneur Shauwn Mkhize. Image: Mkhize’s Facebook page

Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said in a statement following the raid on Mkhize’s property that Sars has been diligently investigating and cracking down on the construction industry “so that it complies with tax laws”.

The Durban High Court granted the preservation order and a search-and-seizure warrant.

ADVERTISEMENT: CONTINUE READING BELOW

“This decision is a crucial step in Sars’s strategic objective to make it increasingly hard and costly for taxpayers who wilfully and intentionally engage in criminal activity,” Kieswetter said.

Assassination attempt

Mkhize’s name surfaced in July this year when senior advocate Coreth Naudé was shot several times during an attempted assassination while on business for Sars in Durban.

Naudé had been investigating several high-profile cases, including that of Mkhize.

Read: Sars advocate in stable condition after attempted assassination [Jul 2024]

Despite being critically injured, Naudé managed to get away from the scene. The investigation into her attempted assassination is ongoing.

Coreth Naudé had been investigating Mkhize’s case, among others, on behalf of Sars. She survived the attempt on her life Image: @ZeitzMOCAA via X

Kieswetter at the time condemned the assassination attempt.

Acts such as these and those who perpetrate them must be resisted and defeated by everyone who wants a better country and who wants to ensure that no one is above the law, he said.

“We will not be intimidated by such acts of crime and cowardice.”

Kieswetter said on Tuesday that Sars will not waiver in executing its mandate without fear, favour, or prejudice, regardless of any persons’ standing in society.

“No one is above the law; it is therefore critically important that Sars acts emphatically to ensure that all meet their legal obligations. Today’s search-and-seizure operation must communicate an unambiguous message to all that law-enforcement agencies will act to stop lawlessness.”

Any wilful defiance of the law will be resisted, he said.

Listen/read: Cold cash: How was Jooste’s mistress able to access frozen assets? [Apr 2024] Legal precedent set as Jooste’s paramour forfeits assets  [May 2024]

Follow Moneyweb’s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.