If Bain & Co had previously shown itself willing to co-operate with the Nugent commission of inquiry into the SA Revenue Service (Sars), that seemed to change last week, when the company’s SA head and managing partner, Vittorio Massone, failed to arrive for the public hearings — he claimed to be receiving treatment in Italy — and offered an affidavit instead. With that, the story behind the Boston-based consultancy’s role in the destruction of Sars took a sinister turn, as it emerged that Massone had been the "executive coach" of suspended Sars commissioner Tom Moyane prior to his appointment at the tax agency. In a recent round of hearings, Massone had withered under grilling from evidence leader Carol Steinberg. Put on the spot, the Bain executive had admitted to meeting Moyane — who he said already had "ambitions" of taking up the Sars post — a year before then president Jacob Zuma appointed him commissioner. At that meeting, the Italian consultant recommended a far-reaching "ref...

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