TJSA DEMANDS TOUGH NEW LAWS AFTER 13-YEAR JAIL TERM FOR ILLICIT CIGARETTE TRAFFICKER
Tax Justice South Africa statement:
�•Three-front crackdown on tax looters needed as illicit cigarettes become South Africa’s No.1 enforcement priority:
A 13-year prison sentence handed down to an illicit cigarette trafficker in Limpopo should become the model for a sweeping national crackdown on tax crime, Tax Justice South Africa (TJSA) said today.
Commending all involved in the arrest, prosecution and sentencing of the foreign national on Wednesday, TJSA warned that South Africa can no longer afford weak penalties while illicit trade drains an estimated R100 billion a year from the fiscus.
�TJSA called for a crackdown on three fronts:
· Mandatory jail terms for major tax cheats – judges should impose a custodial sentence of at least five years, in addition to heavy fines, for anyone possessing or trading in illicit cigarettes.
· Lifetime company directorship bans – major offenders should never again be allowed to own or operate businesses.
· Immediate forfeiture of assets – law enforcement agencies must have stronger powers to seize luxury vehicles, homes and other proceeds of crime.
“Illicit cigarettes are the engine room of the illicit economy that loots the state of vital revenue, robs children of their future and threatens the health and safety of our most vulnerable.
“If government is serious about tackling illicit trade, illegal cigarettes must become the top enforcement priority. We need to stop treating these criminals as opportunists and start treating them as economic saboteurs.”
TJSA’s campaign has been inspired by the case of 56-year-old Toni Nathaniel Gumbo, who was sentenced on Wednesday to an effective 13 years’ imprisonment by the Polokwane Commercial Crimes Court for possession of illicit cigarettes and contravention of the Immigration Act.
Police intercepted Gumbo on the R516 in the Tuinplaas policing area after receiving intelligence about a white Ford Ranger allegedly transporting illicit cigarettes from Musina to Gauteng. Officers recovered 36 master cases of Remington Gold cigarettes
concealed inside boxes, with an estimated street value of R360,000.
TJSA praised the Provincial Tracking Team, prosecutors and the court for securing the conviction.
The case provides a stark contrast to the lack of justice following Al Jazeera’s Gold Mafia investigation three years ago. Despite allegations of multi-billion-rand money-laundering, not a single arrest has been made and key figures allegedly implicated in the exposé continue to do business and manufacture cigarettes in South Africa.
“This week’s case shows what can happen when enforcement agencies act decisively and the courts impose meaningful punishment.”
“The current prosecution process and sentencing rules are discredited and fines are no deterrent when criminals hide fortunes offshore. South Africa must stop slapping tax crooks on the wrist. We need to lock them up before they bring this country to its knees,” added Tax Justice.