A TAX consultant in Lusaka, Jones Malete Nyeleti will shift focus from calculating company expenditures and profits to calculating the seconds, minutes and hours until he becomes a free man after he was convicted of forgery.
The Court injected Nyeleti into prison for a period of 18 months with hard labour after being convicted of forgery and uttering contrary to section 352 of the Penal Code Cap 87 of the laws of Zambia.
In dishing out the sentence, the court said the crime committed by the convict was serious and needed a custodial sentence to deter would be offenders.
According to a statement issued by Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) corporate communication manager Oliver Nzala, Nyeleti committed the crime between January 2020 and August 2020.
“Whilst acting together with others unknown, [Nyeleti], with intent to deceive or defraud, did forge a document namely Audit Agreement form between CD Middleton Enterprises and Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) purporting to show that it was genuinely issued and signed by an officer of ZRA when in fact not. He further uttered the same document to the Authority,” Nzala said.
“The accused was found guilt, and the Court sentenced the convict on both counts to 18 months imprisonment with hard labour with effect from today 25th November 2024. The sentences are to run concurrently.”
Nzala said Nyeleti’s act of deception could have cost the Zambian government over K1.2 million in Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds.
By Moses Makwaya
Kalemba November 25, 2024
