Corruption Watch says the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) failure to prosecute self-confessed cigarette smuggler Adriano Mazzotti demonstrates inequality under the law.
Image: File photo
The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) failure to prosecute self-confessed cigarette smuggler Adriano Mazzotti, despite his admissions of serious crimes, shows that the law is not being applied equally and signals institutional decay.
Corruption Watch said it is concerned that this sends a message to other players that confession followed by settlement is a viable exit strategy from criminal liability.
This comes after anti-crime advocacy campaign Tax Justice SA called on the NPA to explain why Mazzotti never faced criminal prosecution despite confessing to tobacco smuggling, tax evasion, unlawful surveillance and attempts to corrupt officials from the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
The call came after the Madlanga Commission’s evidence leader Advocate Adila Hassim revealed that Mazzotti, co-founder and chief executive of Carnilinx Tobacco Company, signed a confidential affidavit in May 2014 detailing serious crimes. This affidavit formed part of his engagements and a subsequent tax settlement with SARS.
In an affidavit, Mazzotti admitted to unlawful tobacco imports, manufacturing cigarettes “off the books”, conducting illegal surveillance of SARS officials and paying R800,000 in cash to a legal adviser believed to have influence over SARS officials.
This after SARS launched intensive lifestyle audits and intelligence gathering into Carnilinx, its directors, and associates. The revenue services uncovered complex tax non-compliance, “off the books” cigarette manufacturing and vast amounts of unlawfully acquired tobacco.
The Commission has also heard evidence of a close relationship between Carnilinx director Mohamed Sayed and suspended Crime Intelligence Major-General Feroz Khan, who survived an apparent assassination attempt last week, just before he was due to testify.
WhatsApp exchanges placed before the Commission appear to discuss illicit tobacco investigations and reveal an unusually close relationship between the two men.
Corruption Watch spokesperson Janine Erasmus said any settlement agreement with SARS settles the tax debt, but does not act as a shield for criminal conduct.
Erasmus said the agreement does not automatically impact or negate any proposed NPA action.
She said the country is owed an explanation given the gravity of the charges against Mazzotti.
The NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the matter should be referred to police and SARS, adding that the NPA deals with dockets that have already been investigated where it has to make a decision whether to prosecute or not.
SARS did not respond to enquiries by deadline.
The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) said the Financial Intelligence Centre Act prevents it from disclosing whether or not it has or has not received any regulatory reports and whether it has or has not produced any financial intelligence on a matter or individual.
SARS reported that the illicit tobacco industry dominates 60% to 78% of the country’s total market, resulting in astronomical tax revenue losses.
According to the briefings from SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter and National Treasury submissions, the state has lost a cumulative R119 billion since 2002, with annual ongoing fiscal leakages estimated at R27bn to R28bn.
The University of Cape Town's Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP) published findings from the 2021 Global Adult Tobacco Survey showing that about 60% of cigarettes sold in South Africa are likely illicit.
A nationally representative study published in the Tobacco Induced Diseases journal found that 75% of all cigarettes sold in informal shops (spaza shops) are illicit, with over 90% of these illegal products being produced by local manufacturers.
The rampant black market has forced major players like British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) to announce the shutdown of local manufacturing plants, as exorbitant taxes and illegal competition have made legitimate business unviable.
This is not the first time watchdog groups and advocacy bodies raise concerns about lack of criminal charges and arrests against these syndicates.
In 2024, Corruption Watch highlighted that despite multiple state agencies referring over 100 suspects involved in this sprawling gold and tobacco smuggling network for prosecution, neither the Hawks nor NPA have brought criminal charges against the main figures.
Erasmus said the failure to prosecute Mazzotti exposes a long-standing pattern of selective enforcement and unequal application of the rules that the country has tolerated at various levels for decades.
She said this erodes the foundational integrity of the criminal justice system by compromising the principle of equality before the law.
“In this case, we are concerned because when someone admits to the criminal activities that Mazzotti did in his affidavit, and yet he escapes prosecution, it sends a message to other players in that space that confession followed by settlement is a viable exit strategy from criminal liability, not just tax liability. This also is something that favours the wealthy – we cannot all afford to buy our way out of trouble, nor should we,” she said.
“It also undermines and devalues the work of investigators and whistle-blowers, and we might say it could go as far as to create a chilling effect where whistle-blowers might wonder why they should put themselves in danger when the outcome is so disappointing. This is the last thing we need when we are grappling with such high levels of corruption,” Erasmus added.
Tax Justice SA founder Yusuf Abramjee, on the other hand, said this is a worrying pattern, adding that on one hand there is Mazzotti’s admissions of serious criminal conduct that apparently resulted in no prosecution, while on the other there are years of investigations, allegations involving R8,2bn in unpaid tax and referrals by multiple state agencies, yet still no criminal charges.
“The NPA owes the public an explanation. If there is not enough evidence to prosecute, it should say so. If there is, South Africans deserve to know why these cases have not reached a courtroom.
“Nobody should be above the law. Justice cannot depend on wealth, influence or political connections.”