Moyane’s legal fees against Adrian Lackay ‘to be paid by Sars’

The legal fees of suspended South African Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner Tom Moyane will be paid by Sars, EWN reports.

The legal fees in question are of the charges Moyane had brought against former Sars spokesperson Adrian Lackay, a R12 million defamation lawsuit which Moyane has withdrawn.

It was reported that Sars confirmed that it would foot Moyane’s legal fees because the suspended commissioner had instituted the claim in his capacity as commissioner.

The amount, however, is not known at this stage because the legal teams are reportedly trying to determine how much it will be.

Lawyers for Sars and Moyane withdrew the civil proceedings against Lackay recently.

Lackay had a target on his back after he addressed a letter to parliament’s standing committee on intelligence several months after Moyane came into office, detailing the commissioner’s role in tarnishing the state institution, while repudiating allegations of a “rogue unit” within Sars, as stated by Moyane and Sunday newspapers.

Moyane and Sars filed a R12 million lawsuit against Lackay, claiming defamation.

But according to a notice from the High Court in Pretoria, dated September 27, the two plaintiffs, Moyane and Sars, decided to withdraw the charges against Lackay. The reasons are unknown.

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