Businessman guilty of trying to defraud taxman out of R9.5m

A Nelson Mandela Bay businessman who tried to defraud the taxman out of R9.5m by submitting false tax returns, has been found guilty as charged.

Bonakele Damsi, 56, and his business Damsi Construction Services CC, will be sentenced on January 16.

Damsi was convicted by the Gqeberha commercial crimes court on Tuesday on 17 counts of contravention of the provisions of the Tax Administration Act.

He was arrested by the Gqeberha-based serious commercial crime investigation team of the Hawks on February 22.

It was found that between February 2020 and April 2022, Damsi, as the director of Damsi’s Construction Services, had submitted false VAT returns with no supporting documents.

During auditing, the company was randomly selected and flagged.

The matter was then reported to the Hawks for investigation.

According to provincial Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, investigations revealed that the SA Revenue Service was nearly prejudiced out of more than R9.5m.

Following his arrest, Damsi was released on bail of R5,000.

“Damsi made several court appearances until his conviction.

“The matter was [postponed] to January 16 for sentencing.

“In anticipation of a retributive sentencing, the investigations team is lauded by provincial head Major-General Mboiki Obed Ngwenya for securing the conviction,” Mgolodela said.

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