A tax evasion matter against actress-turned-producer Sonia Mbele and her business partners has been withdrawn.
The matter was withdrawn at the Johannesburg magistrate’s court on Friday after the Blood and Water actress signed an admission of guilt statement and paid a R41 000 fine.
This after the media personality missed court appearances on two occasions. She was granted a last opportunity to show up in court or face a warrant of arrest.
Mbele appeared in court briefly alongside her two accused and former business partners Yolisa Gqunta and Robone Sesing.
Trio in court for 41 counts
The trio was accused of dodging tax payment and slapped with 41 counts of not filing company income tax from 2019 to 2022, not filing their value-added tax returns from 2020 to 2022, and not filing their Pay As You Earn from 2020 to 2022.
This is related to the company that produced a popular reality TV show, The Real Housewives of Johannesburg, which aired on Mzansi Magic for season one and two before being moved to 1Magic for its current season.
The admission of guilt statement that Mbele signed shows that the media personality made the R41 000 payment on Wednesday this week.
Reads the admission of guilt statement: “I further confirm that I was given [an] opportunity to decide whether I want to pay the admission of guilt fine or to appear in court to contest the allegations against me, and that I freely, voluntarily and without undue influence decided to pay the said fine.”
Mbele was made aware that the admission of guilt fine also indicates that she will be deemed to have been convicted and sentenced by the court with jurisdiction in respect of the stipulated offence.
Blame it on my business partners
Previously, Mbele put the blame on Gqunta and Sesing, alleging that the non-payment of tax was their fault because, she alleged, she had left the company in 2019.
In a statement in September, Mbele said she left her production company, Rhosa, in 2019 and that to her knowledge, the company had been closed by then.
“In 2019, Sonia Mbele left Rhosa and concluded with her peers to close the company, however, the public officer and the accountant didn’t do so.
“Now she is forced to attend these proceedings without any knowledge of any company still being operational when she left and decided to close the company down.”
She added that she had made arrangements to settle her own portion of the tax amounts owed to the taxman.
