Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has said, in response to a parliamentary question, that there was not a replacement for the defunct High Risk Investigating Unit with the South African Revenue Service but added that since this information was supplied by SARS he could not vouch for its veracity.
The response and the extraordinary rider, which points again to the dire relationship between the finance minister and the leadership of the revenue service, came in reply to a question by Democratic Alliance finance spokesman David Maynier on Wednesday.
Maynier asked whether there was a unit within SARS similar to the High Risk Investigation Unit, the so-called rogue spy unit, which was shut down in 2014 and forms the basis of a Hawks investigation that is widely regarded as a political witch hunt against Gordhan.
“This information was provided by the South African Revenue Service on the 8th November 2016,” the response said.
“The ministry of finance cannot verify its accuracy because of a lack of accountability and cooperation from the SARS top management.”
The reply added that SARS had implemented a new operating model and as such no longer had specialised units.
However this seemed at odds with more recent confirmation by Moyane that he had approved a new unit which would deal with “tax matters” and investigate SARS employees who were suspected of involvement in criminal dealings.
The existence of a new unit emerged in press reports some 10 days ago, and Gordhan then wrote to Moyane to seek clarity.
The unit was approved in mid-September. An internal funding request dated a forthnight earlier has surfaced which asked for vehicles, a safe house and a secret operating fund, prompting comparisons with the spy unit.
Gordhan and former tax revenue colleagues are being investigated by the Hawks in connection with an intelligence unit Moyane claims was set up illegally while the minister still headed SARS.
Gordhan has maintained that it was established lawfully to investigate the illicit economy.
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