A 54-year-old man was convicted in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court after entering into a plea and sentence agreement with the State.
A Gabonese national has been sentenced to 10 years' direct imprisonment after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) secured his conviction for defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of approximately R67 million through fraudulent Value-Added Tax (VAT) refund claims.
Andre Claude De Diguela, 54, was convicted in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court after entering into a plea and sentence agreement with the State.
De Diguela, the sole member of Assistance Medicale Internationale CC, was convicted on 128 counts of fraud involving fraudulent VAT refund claims worth about R67 million and 66 counts of money laundering relating to approximately R10 million.
According to the NPA, the offences were committed over about 10 years by submitting forged medical invoices to support VAT refund claims.
