Montana vs SARS: War of Words Escalates Over Alleged Fake Judgment

Former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) Group CEO Lucky Montana has launched a fierce legal and political offensive against the South African Revenue Service (SARS), accusing its Commissioner Edward Kieswetter and senior official Ilse Pires of criminal conduct, including fraud, perjury, abuse of power, and defeating the ends of justice.

Montana, who has long alleged that SARS is being used as a political weapon against him, confirmed that he laid formal criminal charges with the South African Police Service. He insists the revenue authority fabricated or misrepresented court documents to justify its sequestration bid and the subsequent raids on his properties.

Montana also accused Kieswetter of threatening him and abusing his office to silence critics.

“We are truly under a Mafia State with officials like Kieswetter thinking they are above the law. I will not be threatened by the SARS Commissioner or SARS officials,” Montana said.

At the centre of the dispute is what Montana calls a “phantom court order” — a default judgment allegedly used by SARS to justify its enforcement action.

In a detailed statement, Montana said his legal team had repeatedly requested copies of the default judgment and court order that SARS claims to have obtained, only to be met with evasive responses.

“My attorneys had on numerous occasions requested from SARS Attorneys the copy of the Default Judgment and Court Order upon which the SARS Sequestration Application is based,” Montana said. “SARS Attorneys could not provide the actual Default Judgement and Court Order. Instead, they provided internal documents but not the Default Judgement or Court Order.”

He added that the case number used by SARS did not correspond with the matter at hand and that both the police and the sheriff raided his family homes without a court order.

“From where I sit, and considering the misguided response by SARS, I am even more convinced the Default Judgment and Court Order do not exist,” Montana said.

Montana said the only way to end the dispute was for SARS to publish the documents it claims to hold.

“The only way for Edward Kieswetter to avoid or end any public spat is to publish by this afternoon the Default Judgment and Court Order that SARS obtained against me. If SARS does this, we will then focus on resolving this matter.”

SARS responded swiftly, accusing Montana of spreading false and defamatory claims and attempting to “obfuscate, delay, distract, and create unnecessary drama.”

In a lengthy statement issued on Tuesday, the revenue agency said it emphatically denied that it had “fraudulently doctored court judgments to justify hefty tax bills.”

“The Tax Administration Act imposes on SARS the statutory obligation to ensure the efficient and effective collection of tax. It is settled law that a certified statement obtained by SARS from a competent court is treated as a civil judgment for purposes of recovery of a tax debt,” the agency said.

SARS added that it operates under a strict governance and oversight framework, with automated systems and independent committees determining which taxpayers are subject to audit or enforcement.

“SARS is a semi-autonomous public institution that applies the tax laws it administers with fairness, transparency, and without external influence. We emphatically deny any politically motivated witch hunts,” the agency said.

The revenue service warned that Montana’s allegations were “false, scandalous and vexatious”, and gave him 24 hours to publicly withdraw them or face a rare public disclosure of his confidential tax records.

“Considering the claims by Montana, SARS will, to the extent necessary, invoke Section 67(5) of the Tax Administration Act, which allows SARS to disclose taxpayer information that would otherwise be treated as confidential, in order to disprove the false allegation made against SARS and its processes,” it said.

SARS also dismissed Montana’s claim that he had “charged” the Commissioner and other officials, saying only the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) could institute criminal charges.

“The NPA is the sole institution empowered to decide to criminally charge any person, institution or legal entity and to determine what those charges may be,” the agency said.

Montana, however, insists he followed proper procedure by lodging a criminal complaint with the police, who will refer the matter to the NPA for consideration.

The bitter standoff between Montana and SARS has once again highlighted tensions between public officials and the state’s investigative institutions — many of which have been accused of selective enforcement and political targeting in the post–State Capture era.

Montana, once seen as a central figure in South Africa’s transport transformation agenda, has for years claimed that his downfall at Prasa was orchestrated by political enemies and “captured networks within the state.”

A former senior government legal advisor, speaking to journalists on condition of anonymity, said the case exposes “a dangerous erosion of trust between citizens and institutions meant to serve them.”

“When public figures accuse tax authorities of fabricating court orders, and SARS responds by threatening to publish confidential tax data, it reflects a breakdown of mutual respect and due process,” the source said.

Montana said he would defend his constitutional rights against what he described as intimidation and unlawful disclosure of his tax affairs.

“It will be an abuse of power for the Commissioner to disclose my tax information without due legal process. I will defend my Constitutional rights in this regard and respond accordingly at the time,” he said.

He reminded Kieswetter that the SARS Commissioner himself had previously gone to court to prevent the disclosure of taxpayer information, accusing him of hypocrisy.

“The Commissioner should be reminded that he previously approached the courts challenging the public disclosure of the tax information of any taxpayer. He conveniently forgets this because the man before him is someone he does not like or has already damaged his reputation.”

Montana concluded by saying he was prepared for a legal fight.

“I will not be threatened nor deterred by Kieswetter. The personal decision I have taken to open a criminal case with the SAPS remains correct.”