SA industry accused of dirty tricks

The former head of the South African Revenue Service’s (SARS) investigation unit, Johann van Loggerenberg, has said that he feels frustrated that allegations of cigarette-industry spying are not being investigated, according to a story by Pieter-Louis Myburgh, Angelique Serrao and Adriaan Basson for The Star, relayed by the TMA.

The discount cigarette manufacturer Carnilinx has made allegations of espionage against the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa (Tisa).

Van Loggerenberg said on Tuesday that revelations on the social media platform Twitter by a tobacco industry whistle-blower “have a direct bearing on the matters at hand”.

The leaks contained hundreds of pages of documents about how British American Tobacco, a principal member of Tisa, allegedly hired private security firm Forensic Security Services (FSS) to conduct allegedly unlawful surveillance on its competitors, particularly Carnilinx.

Van Loggerenberg said he was frustrated that authorities were not investigating these allegations.

In 2014, under a project dubbed “Honey Badger,” SARS had sent letters to Tisa and the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association, indicating there would be investigations.

This clampdown had resulted in a backlash which saw SARS investigators becoming the target of “spies, double agents, dirty tricks and the leaking of false allegations to discredit them,” Van Loggerenberg added, quoting a 2014 article in The Star.