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South African tax agency investigates local billionaire Christo Wiese and former ENSafrica law firm executives for their role in hindering the collection of 3.7 billion rand ($ 279 million) tax, according to a Financial Mail report. ENSafrica has created a tax structure to help the pan-African crude oil explorer Tullow Oil to value 3.9 billion rand out of the country, thereby avoiding taxes, the Johannesburg-based magazine quoted documents filed by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) at the Western Cape High Court. The story was written by journalists from the Center for Investigative Journalism of AmaBhungane
SARS claimed that ENSafrica restructured Tullow, leaving him in charge of a southern company. -African who was a tax shell, then sold it to Mr Wiese and his band Titan, the magazine reported. Mr. Wiese would then have transferred badets out of the corporation and sold them to a former officer of ENSafrica who reportedly told the tax agency that there was no business there. badets or cash to claim, according to the release.
Tullow declined to comment except to say that he acquired acquired energy in Africa in 2004 and then in 2007 carried out a group-wide restructuring of which the ENS transaction made part.
SARS wants Mr. Wiese and three others – including a former cadre of ENSafrica – to pay 217 million rand personally as part of his broader claim, the Financial Mail said.
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"Titan has nothing to do with restructuring profit," Wiese said by telephone Thursday. "I will take legal advice on anything that is misleading.The restructuring has nothing to do with me, it is a case of SARS and ENS." [19659002] SARS can not comment on taxpayer cases, he said in an email Tullow declined to comment
An ENSafrica-related entity bought one of the group companies involved in the Tullow was reorganized in 2007 and sold to Titan the same year, said ENSafrica in an e-mail release, with its subsidiaries "at all times complying with all the requirements of the relevant tax laws". SARS "has all the facts relevant to the role of each advisor, including the role of our firm and our affiliates. SARS has not sought to challenge the role of one or the other advisors, including ourselves, arising from these transactions. "
– Bloomberg
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