Former Square One chairman Garth Coetser is set to appear in the South Gauteng High Court next year on charges of value-added tax fraud.
The trial was initially set to take place in the Magistrate's court, but the director of public prosecutions decided to have him tried in the High Court, says prosecutor advocate Marius Oosthuizen. The matter was this week postponed and transferred to the High Court for trial from 8 April to 17 May 2013, he says.
Coetser and co-accused Anton Meyer and Clifford Stevens have been accused 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 two 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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