South Africa Govt expels Malawi, Rwanda, Guinea, Lesotho, Burundi diplomats for tax invasion
PRETORIA-(MaraviPost)-South Africa government has expelled Malawi, Rwanda, Guinea, Lesotho, Burundi diplomats for abusing diplomatic privileges
The South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) has uncovered a tax-dodging racket in which foreign diplomats buy large volumes of alcohol at duty free retailers and sell it locally, cheating the tax collector of an estimated R100 million in taxes every month.
According to News24, two investigations by SARS, one in 2019 and the other last year, singled out diplomats from Rwanda, Lesotho, Ghana, Guinea, Malawi and Burundi for being involved in the scam.
At least three senior officials from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told News24 last year SARS agents caught a German diplomat, inside a duty free retailer, using his credentials to buy alcohol for three friends.
According to South African media coverage citing a widely circulated report from the SA Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco), 12 people were accused of abusing their diplomatic privileges.
Shaming the country… just goes against the whole diplomatic mission