Mpisanes must make do with two cars
2013-02-07 13:33
Gallery | click on thumbnail to view larger image
Assets to the tune of R140m were removed from Durban businessman Sibusiso "S'bu" Mpisani's home -- his fleet of luxury vehicles among them. See the pictures.
-
Durban in a Word
Thirty writers, thirsty views of Durban. Each piece evokes memories of the city that has shaped...
Was R126.00
Now R121.00
buy now
Durban - Former Durban metro police officer S’bu Mpisane and his wife Shauwn will have to make do with just two cars - a BMW and a Range Rover - after the Asset Forfeiture Unit seized their fleet of luxury cars in a dawn operation at their La Lucia home on Wednesday.
The seized cars - worth around R22m - a Rolls Royce Phantom, a Rolls Royce Ghost, a Maserati, a Ferrari Scaglietti, a Porsche Cayenne Turbo and a Panamera Turbo, two armoured BMW 5 series and two Hummers, the NPA said in a statement.
The fleet was carefully driven out of the couple’s mirror-door, showroom-like garage and either lined up to be hoisted on to flat-bed trucks or driven to a warehouse under the care of Ian Wyles Auctioneers, reported The Mercury.
The newspaper said that some of the cars would not start because they had flat batteries, and many of them were not insured because they were not driven regularly.
Tax evasion
Four fixed properties - including Mpisane's home, valued at about R25m - were also seized.
The NPA said other assets were still being identified.
On Tuesday, the KwaZulu-Natal High Court granted the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) an order authorising it to freeze and seize R140m in property.
Shauwn, who has been convicted of tax fraud, is on trial in the Durban Regional Court for alleged tax evasion.
She is accused of, among other things, inflating invoices by more than R5m to cut her tax bill. She has pleaded not guilty.
The seizure, authorised by KwaZulu-Natal High Court acting Judge Nkosinathi Chili, follows an intensive investigation by the Hawks into allegations that Shauwn Mpisane, as the sole member of Zikhulise Cleaning Maintenance and Transport cc, submitted false documents to obtain Construction Industry Development Board gradings.
The Mpisane’s home consists of two sea-view properties which have been merged as one, with one half as the “garage” for the vehicles.
Investigators said there were rows upon rows of women’s shoes spread over two rooms in the house and “more television sets than (in) Dion Wired”.
