Jared Watson, the nephew of the deceased Bosasa boss Gavin Watson, has taken the family’s fight against the company’s former chief operating officer Angelo Agrizzi to a tax inquiry probing the affairs of the organisation.
On Tuesday, Jared appeared in place of Gavin, who died in a mysterious car accident on August 26, a day before he was due to appear before the South African Revenue Service (Sars) inquiry into the affairs of the facilities management company.
Jared told Sunday World this week that he had demonstrated to the inquiry – which was held behind closed doors – that Agrizzi allegedly used his power and influence within the company to enrich himself and those close to him through supplier kickbacks, employment contracts and fictitious consulting agreements, among others.
The evidence, Jared noted, demonstrated that there was no state capture from within the group.
He said Agrizzi, Andries van Tonder, a former Bosasa chief financial officer and Frans Vorster, a former employee, were among those who discredited Bosasa after leaving the company.
“The central points of the submission to the tax inquiry were that Angelo Agrizzi’s modus operandi in his dealing from within Bosasa and subsequently to leaving the company, were a repetitive cycle of himself and his cohorts, van Tonder and Vorster, attempting to discredit the company through, inter alia, his use of the media, to such an extent that the board would feel it necessary to step down and appoint Agrizzi as the CEO,” Jared said.
Agrizzi’s lawyer Brian Witz said he, van Tonder and Voster denied the allegations, saying it seemed Jared was “attempting to change the narrative on behalf of the late Mr Watson that he was not involved in any bribery or corruption of senior politicians despite this being widely
corroborated by the commission on state capture”.
“It is furthermore strange that Jared Watson fails to mention that he is being investigated as one of the directors of a trust formed to assist in the movement of funds from Bosasa,” he said.
By George Matlala
