Former Square One chairman Garth Coetser is out on R500 000 bail, and is set to return to court in August on VAT fraud charges.
Coetser handed himself over to police a day after stepping down from Square One's board. The JSE-listed company, which has distanced itself from the scam, is fighting its own legal battles and is set to apply for liquidation today.
Coetser's lawyer, Pete du Plessis, from Du Plessis and Kruger Attorneys, confirms that Coetser was released on bail at a hearing held early last week. He says the trial date has provisionally been set for August.
Du Plessis explains that the case, originally to be heard at the end of June, has been postponed to August at the state's request to allow it to investigate further.
Tax scam
Coetser and two other people - Wendy Wright, a bookkeeper, and Anton Meyer, a director of some of the companies allegedly involved - face charges of defrauding the South African Revenue Service (SARS) of R189 million.
Prosecutor advocate Marius Oosthuizen was not immediately available this morning to explain why Coetser's bail was so high.
The arrests of the three were the result of a SARS investigation into 18 import and export companies for VAT fraud. 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 was one of the founding members of Square One and was appointed as non-executive chairman in December 1999. Square One did not provide reasons for his resignation. Meyer is also a former Square One director, but stepped down in 2007.
Coester was not immediately available to comment this morning.
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