Investigative group AmaBungane has obtained court papers which reveal that the South African Revenue Service (Sars) is trying to recover R3.9-billion in taxes and penalties dating back to 2007.
Eyewitness News reports Wiese and the implicated parties have denied there was any attempt at tax evasion or any tax benefit derived from the scheme.
Yet, it is alleged that law firm ENSafrica developed a structure to facilitate London-listed company Tullow transferring assets worth an estimated R3.9-billion out of the country in order to avoid certain taxes.
AmaBungane is reporting that ENSafrica was left in charge of a tax shelter after Tullows’ restructure and later sold this tax shelter to Wiese, who is alleged to have moved assets out of the shelter when Sars started asking questions before selling the shelter to a former ENSafrica partner.
That partner allegedly told the revenue service that there were no funds or assets in the shelter.
Sars now wants to recover the billions from Wiese, the former ENSafrica partner and two others.
Wiese owns a 44% share of Pepkor since becoming the chairman there in 1981 and starting out as an executive director for the retail store Pep Stores from 1967 to 1973. Pepkor is a discount store in South Africa that was founded in 1965.
