The decision to drop charges against finance minister Pravin Gordhan came three days after a memo came to light proving that a legal opinion had been sought from a senior official at the SA Revenue Service (Sars) regarding the payout of former commissioner Ivan Pillay’s pension fund. Vlok Symington, from the legal & policy division, provided a legal opinion in March 2009 about whether Sars was permitted to pay out Pillay and rehire him on a contract basis. According to Symington’s memo from the time, Pillay’s application for early retirement "should be considered together with his application for the minister [Gordhan] to approve the benefit penalty payment by Sars as well as his request for post-retirement contract employment at Sars ". This week the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) , Shaun Abrahams , said he had not been aware of the memo when he announced that Gordhan, Pillay and former commissioner Oupa Magashula would be charged with fraud. This has heightened t...
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