Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) has said it was still gathering evidence on a reported case of Limbe-based company RR Trading which reportedly evaded duty on K50 million worth of school uniforms supplied to St. Andrews International Primary School in Blantyre.
On the other hand, St. Andrews has said it was not aware of issues surrounding RR Trading that it evaded duty, adding the school was only waiting to be informed of what it required to be paid to the revenue collecting body.
The owner of RR Trading, businessman Mohamed Shabir Salim Jussab, is embroiled in a number of criminal offences and is on the run for months now, with warrants of arrests hanging on his head.
MRA spokesperson Wilma Chalulu said her organisation was gathering evidence on the duty evasion matter involving RR Trading.
She disclosed a team has been assigned to probe the tax evasion by RR Trading, warning they will get to the bottom of the issue and make the company and its owners face the full length of the law.
“We cannot say much for now until we gather all the information surrounding this issue.
St. Andrews International Primary School company secretary Oswald Mtokale admitted RR Trading supplied them with uniforms, but were not aware about the duty evasion issues.
He said they could not even have reported to MRA because they knew nothing, adding they were only waiting to hear what payments they are required to pay to the MRA.
The family of Jussab is being implicated in numerous scams soon immediately after Shabir left Malawi for Saudi Arabia.
MRA sources earlier also disclosed that businessman Humair Salim Mahomed Sidik Jussab, a young brother to Shabir, lied to authorities at the tax-collecting body on a hot car he brought in Malawi that he was a student returning home from school in South Africa to evade paying duty.
MRA sources said the businessman used special exemptions MRA offer for certain individuals to evade the duty.
“Through our ongoing investigations, in collaboration with police, we have discovered that duty was not paid for this car in question, BZ 1382, VW double cab. We know it was being repaired at a garage in Blantyre, Fernando Motors. We have taken special interest and we are investigating the matter further.
“The unfortunate part is that we have learnt that the person in question [Humair Jussab] is not in the country and police are also looking for him on other criminal charges in connection to the same car,” an officer disclosed.
Chalulu also confirmed investigations were underway on this car.
Chief Resident Magistrate Court in Blantyre recently issued a warrant of arrest against businessman Humair Jussab over the car.
This is after Interpol joined by Malawi Police Service, managed to trace the car at the garage.
Shabir is also suspected to be on the run after another warrant of arrest was also issued against him earlier for alleged cyber harassment offences.
The warrant of arrest issued against Humair require investigators from Blantyre Police Station who applied for it to hunt the suspect and bring him before the court.
“This is to authorise and require you to enter into upon and arrest the said suspect, and if arrested, to take possession of the said suspect and produce the same forthwith before this court,” reads the warrant of arrest in part.
The warrant explains the offence is suspected to have occurred on December 15 2022 when the suspect brought the car into Malawi dishonestly.
MPS investigators carried out an operation in selected districts that included Blantyre and Mangochi, according to South West Region Police Headquarters spokesperson Beatrice Mikuwa.
The Interpol recovered four vehicles, including this Amarok VW registered in the name of Humair Jussab.
Humair’s elder brother, Shabir, apart from the cyber harassment offences, is also wanted by police for assault of his driver, and is also facing a K26 million claim for his client’s vehicle he failed to repair at his garage.
The K26 million claim was filed by Shafqat Kasam, demanding the refund which he said was value of his BMW convertible which he claimed RR Auto Service, Shabir’s garage in Blantyre, failed to repair it for over two years.
Kasam claimed in an interview his car, which he said was a runner and only had a sun roof problem which was not functioning, was not repaired until the garage was sold and he later heard that Shabir was on Interpol Red Alert and in Saudi Arabia.
On the case of the fired driver who told police he was assaulted, the 72-year-old ex-employee, Stainford Kalitsilira, told police his former boss assaulted him and verbally abused him on July 16 2021