Durban businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane's bid for more information on 118 counts of fraud against her has been resisted.
|||A Durban businesswoman's bid for more information on 118 counts of fraud against her was resisted, the Durban Magistrate's Court was told on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Meera Naidu said this was a ploy to get the State to reveal its entire case before Shauwn Mpisane stood trial.
If Mpisane and her legal team “merely read” the charge sheet they would get the information they were demanding.
Naidu said Mpisane's application to force the prosecution to disclose more information was an attempt “to tie the State's case in knots”.
On Monday, Wim Trengove SC, for Mpisane, argued that the prosecution had failed to say when exactly she had committed the offences, and where and to whom she had made misrepresentations.
Mpisane is accused of having understated the 2010 VAT returns of her company.
She is also accused of submitting revised financial statements to the SA Revenue Service (Sars) for her company, with inflated purchases that ultimately resulted in the company's profit being understated in 2008.
According to the State, Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance, and Transport CC's bookkeeper Kishal Reddy allegedly forged four invoices to the amount of R5 053 035 on Mpisane's orders.
“The accused must know whether she was party to any fraud or not,” said Naidu.
However, Trengove said there was no information in the police docket and the charge sheet clearly showing when Mpisane had misrepresented the financial affairs of Zikhulise.
Magistrate Blessing Msane was expected to hand down his ruling on Mpisane's application on Wednesday. – Sapa