🇬🇦GabonCentral Africa
Gabonese businessman André Claude Dickoumba-De-Diguela to serve 10 years of 25-year sentence in South Africa for tax fraud
via Gabon Review5 min read
Gabonese businessman André Claude Dickoumba-De-Diguela has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court in South Africa for tax fraud and money laundering. However, he will only serve 10 years due to a plea bargain with the South African prosecutor's office and the principle of concurrent sentences. The verdict was delivered on July 10, following an investigation into a fraudulent system of Value Added Tax VAT refunds. Dickoumba-De-Diguela, 54, pleaded guilty to 128 counts of fraud and 66 counts of money laundering. The fraudulent VAT refund claims amounted to approximately 67 million rands, while the money laundering operations involved nearly 10 million rands. As the sole manager of Assistance Medicale Internationale CC, he operated a scheme using false medical invoices, claiming his company facilitated healthcare access for foreign nationals in South African medical facilities. These fictitious services were then used to illicitly claim VAT refunds from the South African Revenue Service SARS. The South African National Prosecuting Authority stated that tax offenses not only financially harm the state but also divert resources from essential public services and socio-economic development. The 25-year sentence comprised 15 years for fraud with five suspended and an additional 10 years for money laundering. Under South African law, concurrent sentencing means the longest sentence absorbs the shorter ones, resulting in an effective 10-year imp
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