Banks’ role in enabling graft under scrutiny after South African commission publishes part one of its state capture report
South Africa’s banks are bracing themselves for further findings of the judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture after the first part of its report recommended that authorities investigate Nedbank and its employees over their alleged roles in a corrupt contract. Nedbank strongly…
South Africa’s understanding of trade-based financial crime limited says FATF
South Africa has been given 18 months by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to improve its capacity to track and prosecute money laundering and terrorist financing or face being including on the so-called FATF grey-list. The Mutual Evaluation Report of South Africa published this…
Mbeki continues campaign against trade-based financial crime, calls on ALSF to focus more on IFFs
“The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) must assist African countries to negotiate fair and balanced contracts to eliminate opportunities for illicit receipt, use, or transfer of funds,” says former president of South Africa and current chair of the African Union’s High-level Panel on Illicit Financial…
Fight against corruption and IFFs key plank in South Africa’s economic recovery plan
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said his government is intensifying its fight against corruption and illicit financial flows (IFFs) as an integral part of its plans to revive the country’s economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In an address outlining the country’s…
South Africa loses US$300 billion through capital flight, over-invoicing and under-invoicing
An institute based at the University of Massachusetts has published a paper examining mechanisms, actors, enablers, and the institutional environment that facilitate capital flight from South Africa and the resulting accumulation of private wealth in offshore financial centres. The paper published by the Political Economy…
South African working group reports progress in tackling trade-based financial crime
The South African government’s illicit financial flows Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) has told a parliamentary committee that in 2018 and 2019 it has managed to conclude two cases and recover 400 million rand (R400 million – US$22.7 million) in illicit financial flows (IFFs). The IAWG…
