Don’t believe the spin from the prosecuting authority: it’s a long way from being able to successfully litigate complex state capture cases and economic crimes, write MikeMarchant13 and hennievvuuren.
Michael Marchant and Hennie van VuurenIf you believe President Cyril Ramaphosa and prosecutions boss Shamila Batohi, the National Prosecuting Authority and law enforcement have made great strides towards prosecuting economic crimes and state capture.
Last Friday, South Africa was placed on the Financial Action Task Force “greylist” due to its significant weaknesses in identifying and preventing money-laundering and illicit financial flows linked to organised criminal and terrorist groups. : money-laundering paradises such as London, Luxembourg and Hong Kong, for example, aren’t on the greylist. Still, we won’t be able to take up such important global fights when we are unable to prosecute the corrupt in our own backyard.
Consider how the United Arab Emirates responded to FATF greylisting in early 2022. Instead of rattling off a list of “nine seminal cases” like the NPA did, it moved quickly to assist South Africa in extraditing two of the Gupta brothers. The UAE probably knew it wouldn’t have to deliver its end of the bargain, as South Africa would likely bungle the process.
While the full cost of the greylisting remains to be seen, the consensus is that it will lead to reduced investment, greater uncertainty and a drop in employment. In short, the poor will suffer the most. This was the case the NPA was relying on to secure the Guptas’ extradition. And it was the case designed to show that accountability for state capture is possible.
The prosecution also wasn’t ready to argue why the Gupta leaks, upon which numerous state capture prosecutions will depend, should be admitted as evidence — so it abandoned this effort entirely. Those charged in other state capture cases will have watched with glee.
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