Former Square One chairman Garth Coetser is finally set to appear in the South Gauteng High Court in July, on charges of value-added tax fraud.
The trial has been postponed several times and was meant to kick off last April, but was again held over. Marius Oosthuizen, a senior advocate in the National Prosecuting Authority's Specialised Tax Unit, explains this was because the accused applied for a postponement as they allegedly struggled to raise funds to pay legal fees.
Oosthuizen, who will be prosecuting the matter, says this time the trial should take place as the court ordered the defendants to be ready. The matter is set to be heard at the Palm Ridge court, between 21 July and 8 August.
Coetser was accused, along with Anton Meyer and Clifford Stevens, of defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of R189 million. The parties are alleged to have defrauded the revenue service by claiming fake tax refund claims to the value of R189 million. Payouts of R146 million were made before the scam was uncovered.
Coetser, one of the founding members of the now defunct Square One, handed himself over in May 2010, after learning there was a warrant out for his arrest. He was appointed as non-executive chairman in December 1999, but stepped down shortly before his arrest.
Meyer is also a former Square One director, but stepped down from his position in 2007.
Two former Square One subsidiaries were allegedly used in a bid to defraud SARS of R23.8 million. The companies, both of which were sold off by Square One several years ago, are among a total of 18 firms that were allegedly used as vehicles to submit 198 fraudulent VAT returns between 2007 and March 2010.
Square One was liquidated towards the end of September 2010, because of its "precarious cash flow situation".
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