Nicola Mawson
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks, arrested 818 suspects during the 2nd quarter of 2024/2025, including several people involved in fraud at the now defunct Steinhoff – the biggest corporate scandal in South Africa to date – and other people who had stolen money from the State.
Briefing the media yesterday, Lieutenant-General Advocate Dr Godfrey Lebeya said that the Directorate “has made significant inroads in apprehending individuals involved in high-profile cases, thus ensuring accountability and justice for the victims”.
These arrests targeted people involved in serious corruption, serious organised crime, serious commercial crime including fraud, theft, money laundering, and other crimes.
Lebeya said the Serious Economic Offences Unit of the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority secured arrest warrants for four people involved the Steinhoff implosion, including the mastermind behind the fraud and racketeering, the now deceased former CEO, Markus Jooste.
Other arrests in terms of corporate crimes were also successfully concluded, one in which Sandile Mantsoe, under the guise of a company called Trillion Dollar Legacy, defrauded 120 investors of more than R1 million between April and August 2016.
Mantsoe was found guilty of 120 counts of fraud, contravention of the of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Act, read with the Consumer Protection Act. He was sentenced to a cumulative 10 years behind bars, with some sentences set to run concurrently.
Lebeya also detailed a case in which people were sentenced for defrauding the Unemployment Insurance Fund of more than R2m during the Covid-19 pandemic by applying for money for employees who did not exist.
In terms of South Africa getting itself removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – which is now pegged towards the end of next year instead of February – South Africa must “demonstrate a sustained increase in investigations and prosecutions of serious and complex money laundering and the full range of terrorist financing activities”.
The country must also “enhance its identification, seizure, and confiscation of proceeds and instrumentalities of a wider range of predicate crimes”, as well as take several other actions. So far, five action items imposed by the FATF have been resolved, according to a National Treasury statement issued in June.
National Treasury said it “does not expect South Africa to exit greylisting before June 2025, as per the Action Plan deadlines”.
Police spokesperson, Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, told Business Report that 35 people had been arrested in terms of the recommendations of the Zondo Commission. Charges included fraud, corruption, and money laundering. So far, she said, R 400 million has been recovered.
The commission found clear evidence of State capture and abuse of power implicating 1 438 individuals and entities.
Business Against Crime South Africa CEO, Graham Wright, told Business Report on Friday that the private sector has provided the Hawks with access to a state-of-the-art digital and financial forensics laboratory.
The laboratory “plays a critical role in combating financial crime by providing technical support to trace the proceeds of illicit activities, as well as to compile digital evidence to support legal proceedings. More than 120 cases and over 600 exhibits are being processed through this collaboration,” he said.
Wright added that, through government and business partnering, “a comprehensive programme, which includes access to digital forensics capabilities, competency building, processing streamlining and innovations, is intended to further assist government in improving South Africa’s ability to track illegal money flows and collect digital evidence in two priority areas of concern required by FATF”.
These, he said, related to enhancing law enforcement's ability to investigate money laundering and terrorist financing and improving access to necessary documents and information for investigations.
BUSINESS REPORT