Sierra Leone Telegraph: 4 November 2018:
A senior official at the Sierra Leone Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has confirmed to the Sierra Leone Telegraph, that one of the largest supermarkets in the capital Freetown has been ordered by the ACC to be shut down, and a warrant for the arrest of its owner issued, after failing to pay taxes since the store was established.
The financial and administrative records of the St. Mary’s Supermarket were taken away by ACC staff for investigation and the premises declared a crime scene, as the store was closed to staff and customers last Friday, 2nd October 2018.
The ACC official confirmed to the Sierra Leone Telegraph that the arrest of Assad Shallop believed to be the owner of the St. Mary’s supermarket has been ordered. His whereabouts remain unknown.
The ACC also confirmed that its investigators raided the Fawaz Building Materials Store in Freetown, where financial records were taken away for investigations into unpaid taxes amounting to hundreds of millions of Leones.
Speaking to the Sierra Leone Telegraph, a senior ACC official says that they are determined to bring all tax defaulters to justice, and ensure that all taxes owed to the state are collected by the National Revenue Authority (NRA).
What is it with these Shallops, they are like a cancer on mama Salone.
Indeed ACC are doing a stupendous job which deserves no ordinary praise.Their display of unbiased determination and professionalism should be seen by the government as a source of significant revenue to be used for programs that the whole nation can benefit from.
Most Sierra Leoneans seem to have trouble understanding that no government can finance anything without having an effective and efficient tax collecting system , the avoidance of which is a criminal offence which carries the possibility of financially crippling an individual or a company.
The businesses which ACC are now throttling did not react promptly to the change of government,staunchly deluding themselves that they would bribe their way into impunity for avoiding to pay their taxes as they did under the demented Koroma administration.
Ernest Koroma insanely believed that the nation would survive on huge loans alone which did not even find their way to the declared target but into the pockets of the ruling class of which he was head.Thus the loss of the nation’s sovereignty and independence to foreign institutions and governments did not bother him at all.The fact that it would be ordinary people who would carry the burden of repaying the loans carried no pangs of conscience in the corridors of power.
President Bio should therefore be excessively commended for allowing ACC to simply do their job without glancing over their shoulder to see if the executive is shadowing them.Pay your taxes or go down the drain,Maada Bio seems to be saying.
Well done ACC.
For St. Mary’s supermarket not paying taxes, fingers should be pointing at the National Revenue Authority to answer questions.
BRAVO ANTI-CORRUPTION. DIG THOSE CORRUPTED ELEMENTS OUT OF OUR DEAR MAMA SALONE, THEY HAVE GOT NO SOUL.
What has the NRA been doing? Are they complicit in this case?
It’s a shame to hear this from the Shallops, who are born and bred Sierra Leoneans from Blama and most of them consider Mende as their first language of communication. I hope this time around they will realize that it’s not business as usual and try to lineup with the new direction and be patriotic by paying their taxes, which will contribute towards building our nation.
Wow. How can a business entity be operating and not paying taxes and yet still operating. They are stealing from the country while the poor people are suffering. Disgusting.
It’s a dirty job but somebody’s got to do it. It’s been a long time coming thanks ACC.
Let the Commission search and find the missing file for Sierra Leone High Court Case number CC281/08 that transferred assets of a Foreign Direct Investment on Sierra Leone State Land to Estate of Jamil Sahid Mohamed and Basseem Mohamed without a Court Judgement.
How great the ACC is working. Every Sierra Leonean must be proud of being a Sierra Leonean. Those who do not pay their taxes must be held responsible and asked to pay all the past taxes, today and tomorrow.
Bravo to the ACC. Clandestine businesses will stop in the country.