News24 | Ex-Telkom boss Maseko convicted over unfiled tax returns for 5 companies

Sipho Maseko headed up Telkom between 2013 and 2021.

Cornel van Heerden/Netwerk24/Gallo Images

• Former Telkom boss Sipho Maseko has been convicted as a representative of five companies that failed to submit PAYE, VAT and corporate income tax returns.
• An R85 000 admission-of-guilt fine was paid on behalf of the five companies, the NPA says.
• The case forms part of Project Honey Badger, a joint NPA and SARS crackdown on taxpayers and companies who fail to submit returns.
  
• For more financial news, visit News24 Business.
  

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says former Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko has been convicted by the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court for failing to submit tax returns to the South African Revenue Service.

The NPA said Maseko was convicted in his representative capacity as a director of five companies, and that an admission-of-guilt fine of R85 000 was paid “on behalf of the entities”.

The five companies are One Fountain Properties, One Fountain Industries, One Fountain Capital, Afrifund Advisory Services and Afrifund Investments.

Maseko headed Telkom from April 2013 until December 2021. He remained employed by the company in an advisory capacity until June 2022.

READ | Sipho Maseko: The man who modernised Telkom prepares to bow out in 2022

The state argued that Maseko and fellow director Sonwabo Mtshazo were directors of the five companies, which failed to submit more than 85 tax returns over a period of “several years”.

“The companies were convicted of 85 counts of outstanding PAYE, VAT and corporate income tax returns,” said Gauteng NPA communications officer Magaboke Mohlatlole.

The NPA said the companies have since submitted all outstanding returns, enabling SARS to assess them. It added that the investigation followed a case opened in September 2025, and that “no tip-off was received”.

The prosecuting authority said the matter formed part of Project Honey Badger, a project involving the NPA, SARS and the Hawks aimed at prosecuting taxpayers who fail to submit tax returns.

According to the NPA’s latest annual report, the project began in August 2022 and was piloted in Gauteng before being rolled out to other provinces.

“The project aims to improve tax compliance by prosecuting individuals and entities that fail to meet their statutory tax obligations,” the NPA said.

An earlier SARS investigation into the illicit tobacco trade, launched in 2013, also operated under the name Project Honey Badger.

The Maseko case is one of the highest-profile matters reported under the project. The NPA’s latest annual report recorded R1.53 million in admission-of-guilt fines in the past financial year. SARS also collected a further R5.97 million following the submission of outstanding tax returns.

The NPA said that in the year to March, 322 cases were referred for prosecution, 139 were enrolled in court, and 82 were finalised. It did not say how many of the finalised cases actually resulted in convictions or admission-of-guilt fines.

“The NPA welcomes the conviction, which reinforces the importance of complying with tax legislation and reminds taxpayers of their legal obligation to submit tax returns as required by law,” it added.