A 50-year-old man is to appear in court after he was arrested for allegedly attempting to fraudulently claim R8.6m from the South African Revenue Service (Sars).

The man, said to have submitted bogus documents to Sars, was slapped with a summons by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) this week. Spokesperson Lt-Col Philani Nkwalase said the suspect is to appear in the Palm Ridge magistrate's court on June 20 on fraud and contravention of the Tax Administration Act charges.

“It is alleged that the suspect submitted false documents at Sars during the 2016 tax period. Furthermore, he claimed to be a director of a reputable printing company in Johannesburg,” said Nkwalase.

“The vigilance of Sars' officials detected inconsistencies that would have caused a loss of R8.6m had it not been uncovered.

“A case was opened and handed to the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation team in Germiston for further handling. Preliminary exploration revealed that the suspect was never a director of the company.”

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