Former Square One chairman Garth Coetser will appear in court again later this month to find out whether the state will proceed with a case against him.
Coetser handed himself over to police last May, after finding out there was a warrant for his arrest. His arrest followed a South African Revenue Service investigation into 18 import and export companies for VAT fraud.
The former Square One chairman and two other people were charged with defrauding the taxman by submitting fake value-added tax refund claims to the value of R189 million. Payouts of R146 million were made before the alleged scam was uncovered.
Coetser's lawyer, Pete du Plessis, from Du Plessis and Kruger Attorneys, says Coetser will appear in the regional Johannesburg court on 17 March. He says the state is expected to indicate during this appearance whether it is ready to go to trial.
Du Plessis adds Coetser has not yet received a charge sheet. Prosecutor advocate Marius Oosthuizen says the investigation is proceeding well and the prosecution has started drafting charges.
Oosthuizen says the state will indicate whether it is ready to go to court during the 17 March appearance. He expects to go to trial soon, although the matter may be postponed a few more times before a trial date is set.
Last May, Coetser was released on R500 000 bail, and was set to return to court in August. Oosthuizen explains the matter was postponed to allow the state more time to investigate.
Coetser was one of the founding members of Square One and was appointed as non-executive chairman in December 1999, but stepped down shortly before his arrest. Square One was provisionally liquidated towards the end of May last year because of its “precarious cash flow situation”.
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