Other company directors and auditors were also involved in a scam to dodge taxes of millions of rands, Galahad Business Solutions managing director Grant Ramsay said on Friday.

"Some of these fraudulent schemes were committed with the wilful connivance of officials from the SA Revenue Service (Sars)," he said in a statement which he read to reporters outside the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court.

"I must warn the public, the general auditing community and Sars officials that corruption destroys lives. Look at me."

Shortly afterwards Magistrate Bill Moyses sentenced Ramsay to 10 years' imprisonment of which five were suspended for five years.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud and 16 counts in terms of the Income Tax Act -- together involving about R178-million.

"I stand here today as a destroyed and humiliated man," the 45-year-old auditor said in his statement.

"I have aged 20 years in the past six months -- all because of my involvement in criminal activities.

"My criminal conduct began innocuously with the misrepresentation of one or two facts in a tax return and the under-declaration of a taxpayer's taxable income."

That grew into serious fraud.

"I became involved in a web of fraudulent schemes that have landed me in the mess I am in today."

He said numerous other company directors had committed the same crimes of which he would be convicted.

The statement spoke of his involvement in "a massive criminal scheme set up to defraud the fiscus of millions of rands".

"The fraud was committed on behalf of various taxpayers, including me."

Ramsay said he would help Sars recover outstanding taxes from taxpayers who were clients of Galahad and from auditors with whom he had dealt.

"These taxpayers and auditors, including me, used various fraudulent tax evasion and avoidance schemes to deprive the Receiver of Revenue."

There were about 400 companies and individual taxpayers whose tax affairs needed to be investigated, he said.

Ramsay had provided a list of those companies and taxpayers, as well as supporting documentation, to Sars, its spokesman, Jacob Dlamini, told reporters.

It was expected that would enable Sars to recover over R300-million in taxes due to it.

Dlamini said Ramsay's claims about the involvement of Sars officials would be investigated.

One former Sars official has been arrested in connection with the scheme, as well as a colleague of Ramsay's at Galahad and a number of other leading business people.

Ramsay admitted he created fictitious assessed tax losses or financial statements for 16 companies with the purpose of evading tax.

The fraud charge entailed his misappropriation of R638,529 which the company Europoint Cellular -- whose bookkeeping he did -- gave to him as cheques for Sars for VAT.

He then submitted false VAT returns to Sars, thus enabling Europoint Cellular to claim refunds totalling R1,14-million. The money was paid into the company's account electronically, and when it gave him cheques for this amount to return to Sars, Ramsay stole these as well.

Ramsay said he planned to serve his prison sentence fully and hopefully rebuild his life afterwards.

"I pray that my time in prison will allow me to reflect on my deeds, rehabilitate myself and come out of jail a better man."

With acknowledgement to Sapa.