The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa's R3.5-bn 'too long' locomotive contract was one of South Africa's most expensive procurement scandals. Newly obtained tax records provide tantalizing clues linking Prasa's disgraced former CEO to the recipient of some of the alleged illicit funds from the failed deal.
Records relating to the tax battle between former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) owner Lucky Montana and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) provide tantalizing clues linking Montana financially to an entity that received more than R30 million from the main contractor in Prasa's infamous R3.5-billion “too long” locomotive debacle.
SARS to publicly release Montana tax records in October 2025 long-running legal battle On his tax return.
Revenue collectors have slapped Montana with a R55 million tax bill on income the former Prasa boss allegedly failed to declare.
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A previous Daily Maverick analysis uncovered SARS records regarding Montana's suspicious property transactions, an effort aided by documents collected over nearly a decade. Records show Montana benefited significantly from a property deal involving Prasa contractor, which secured controversial security infrastructure contracts worth R4.5 billion.
Know the previous story – Lucky Montana's tax woes and the R4.5bn Prasa scam October 15, 2025 Our attention is now focused on some bank transfers to Montana accounts, marked as taxable income by SARS, which the former Prasa boss allegedly failed to declare.
Whereas the sole purpose of the revenue collector's audit was to recover taxes based…