Accused in alleged fake tax return case receives warrant for her arrest after missing flight

Cape Town - A warrant of arrest has been issued for one of the accused in the case against Nafiz Modack and others relating to alleged fake tax returns amounting to millions of rand.

Faried van der Schyff, Nafiz Modack, Ruwaida Modack, Yaseen Modack, Bashier Syce, Nadia Sait, Dominique McLachlan, Kulsum van der Schyff and Layla Bedderson were supposed to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court this morning.

But Bedderson was not in the dock and did not attend her appearance after apparently missing her flight. It is unclear where Bedderson was travelling from.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said due to her non-attendance, a warrant had been issued.

“She did not attend court as she missed her flight. A warrant of her arrest was held over till the next appearance. The accused are charged with racketeering, money laundering, fraud, forgery and uttering and contraventions of the Value Added Tax Act. The State is set to prove that the group had registered as value added tax vendors and were e-filing claims for refunds which could not be determined.”

The Hawks said at the time of the arrest that the amount of R46 million was believed to have been paid out to the group and that they faced allegations of fraud, money laundering and a pattern of racketeering according to the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

The Hawks explained that several corporate entities which were registered as VAT vendors were e-filing claims for refunds which could not be substantiated. The scheme entailed submission of false information through the SA Revenue Service’s e-filing system. The Hawks said that these entities existed in name only and others were operational but not sufficiently to justify the magnitude of the VAT refund claimed.

Today, Van der Schyff made an appearance after his bail was denied. He is imprisoned at Pollsmoor Prison.

Ntabazalila said that Kulsum van der Schyff had appointed a new lawyer.

“Accused number eight got a new attorney, Mr L Hendricks. He still wants to go through the docket copies.

“The case was postponed until May 10 to give the new attorney a chance to go through the docket copies.”

In January, Modack and two of his co-accused, Jacques Cronje and Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) officer Sergeant Ashley Tabisher, were denied bail at the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court.

Modack, Ricardo Morgan and Zane Killian are facing murder charges related to the killing of AGU commander Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear, who was shot and killed during an assassination outside his home in Bishop Lavis in September 2020.

The State is set to prove that the attack was orchestrated with the assistance of members of the JFK, Junky Funky Gang and to obtain explosive devices between September and November 2019, with the purpose of conspiring to murder Kinnear, who had been investigating underworld trade.

The State believes the two attempted to murder Kinnear, his wife Nicolette, and sons Carlisle and Casleigh Kinnear, as well as two police officers at the residence in Bishop Lavis, in November 2019.

The State alleges that Modack is the manager of an underworld enterprise that had a relationship with Tabisher and JFK member Janick Adonis and his girlfriend Amaal Jantjies, in the conspiracy to murder Kinnear.

Tabisher is facing corruption charges with Modack, in that he had allegedly accepted R10 000 to inform the alleged underworld figure when his home was being raided.

In November 2021, Tabisher was granted R5 000 bail by Judge President Yahya Hlophe, only for it to be rescinded that same day by the Western Cape High Court.

Weekend Argus