So did they manage to find proof that the money came from her father and not Saad Harari? Can't remember what the full story was.
They found it suspicious and implied that it was his money.
But this is all about the huge contested tax bill that was levied by SARS.
Along with the multimillion-dollar donation, Van der Merwe was given an Audi R8 and a Range Rover Evoque – together, worth R2.7 million – as presents, she claims. This after she let slip on the island that these were her favourite cars.
In correspondence between the SA Reserve Bank and Standard Bank, the relationship between the donor and Van der Merwe is described as a “boyfriend/girlfriend situation”.
Since 2013, the SA Revenue Service (Sars) has suspected that the gift was money belonging to her father, businessman Gary van der Merwe, and subjected the two to a tax investigation.
But documents in possession of City Press’ sister newspaper, Rapport, show that Sars and Van der Merwe have buried the hatchet, after she paid R44 million in income tax in 2016.
Although donations by foreigners are not taxable, the settlement that Van der Merwe reached with Sars has now seen the money being classified as “other income”.
In Van der Merwe’s claim against the minister, she alleges that Sars knew all along that the money was actually a donation, but failed to disclose this fact in litigation related to this matter.
This omission by Sars has caused her immeasurable damage, she claims.
Van der Merwe said in previous court papers that she used R98.6 million of that money to buy three properties in Cape Town. A further R25 million was loaned to Luera Movables, a company her father is involved in.
Her father was also the agent who facilitated the receipt of the donation at Standard Bank.
Van der Merwe said she used her father as an agent for her financial affairs because she did not have any grounding in business and because he was an experienced businessman.
These factors caused Sars, who were involved in a dispute with her father, to become suspicious about the transaction.