Thoshan Panday denied bail, remains behind bars until trial

Durban businessman Thoshan Panday was denied bail following his arrest on tax fraud charges.

Panday appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday. The matter was postponed to 25 September for an indictment to be served.

The 52-year-old is facing 27 counts of fraud, alternatively contraventions of tax legislation which outlaw false returns in respect of VAT and annual income tax.

Flight risk

During court proceedings, the prosecutor relying on an affidavit from the investigating officer argued that Panday was a flight risk if granted bail.

In a pending matter in the High Court where he faces charges of racketeering, fraud and corruption, Panday had been granted bail subject to stringent conditions, including that he surrender his passport to the investigating officer.

Panday, however, contravened his bail conditions by misrepresenting to the High Court in 2022 that he required his passport to enable him to travel to several destinations in Europe in December 2022 returning in January 2023.

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Breaking bail conditions

Unknown to the state, Panday travelled to the United States of America in the face of the High Court order permitting him to travel to Europe only.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the state alleged that upon entering the USA, Panday presented a passport which he had previously stated under oath in court proceedings had been lost, and which he had reported as lost to the Department of Home Affairs.

“Upon his departure from the USA, Panday presented a further passport which upon his return to South Africa, he claimed was also lost. The prosecution argued that it was not in the interest of justice to grant Panday bail as he was proven not to be a credible person, and thus constituted a flight risk.

“The prosecution also drew attention to evidence that Panday had previously interfered with state witnesses, had tried to bribe an investigating officer and was proven to have the financial means to live a luxurious lifestyle even after his assets were restrained by the Asset Forfeiture Unit,” Mamothame said.

Tax fraud

Before his arrest, Panday was charged together with eight others, including former KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni, with racketeering, fraud and corruption. This matter is ongoing.

“The state alleges that he was effectively in control of several entities which had received payments from the South African Police Services (SAPS) amounting to approximately R47 million, owing to a corrupt relationship formed with members of the supply chain management division of the SAPS.

“These payments were allegedly made by the SAPS in respect of services rendered, preceding and during the Soccer World Cup in 2010,” Mamothame said.

Panday now faces tax fraud charges as a result of the submission of tax returns in respect of the entities that he had controlled which received payments from the SAPS during the 2010 and 2011 tax years.

Sars suffered

After the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) had extended its investigations into the tax compliance of the entities controlled by Panday, tax investigations conducted by SARS revealed that declarations made in the tax returns were false. It is alleged that SARS had suffered prejudice in the amount of approximately R 7.3 million as a result of these false tax declarations.

“To give effect to a whole-of-government approach by addressing financial crimes, including tax crime, cooperatively, SARS and the IDAC are collaborating to enhance voluntary tax compliance by making non-compliance hard and costly,” Mamothame said.

Panday will remain in custody until the completion of his trial.

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