06 Oct 2006: ISS Today: Fugitives and the Western Cape

06 October 2006: Fugitives and the Western Cape

 

Speaking at a conference on crime in February 2005, Anton Katz, an advocate practising in Cape Town, added his voice to the many others that have expressed concern about a disturbing phenomenon: that with a dramatic increase in trans-border movement of human beings over the past decade South Africa has become a desirable state for fugitives from criminal justice to hide. A year and half has passed since Katz’ observation, but these concerns have not subsided probably because some of the high profile cases remain unresolved. In June 2006, a study by Greg Salter found that "South Africa is regarded favourably by many international criminals as reassuringly distant from the rest of the world, and in particular other countries` law enforcement agencies, and thus as a place they might hide out safely." He noted that the real estate sector was particularly attractive to foreign funds of questionable origins. 

 

The Western Cape may not have the worst of the fugitives, but it continues to attract reprehensible types. Speaking in the provincial legislature this week, Democratic Alliance member Robin Carlisle drew attention to a few cases and demanded action from the provincial government. He listed several cases, including:

  • Vito Palazollo, who is wanted in Italy as a Mafia leader;
  • Ricardo Augusta, who, on his own admission, was convicted of corrupting public officials; and
  • Michael Johnson, Laura Brown and Steve van Rooyen, fugitives from United States criminal justice.

 

Proceeds of crime are less visible, or at least less identifiable. This probably explains why even where the fugitive may not relocate, s/he will register an interest in the country by transferring funds. Fund transfers to the Western Cape have been linked to Jurgen Harksen, Chris Kuruneri and Teodoro Nguema. In between the prominent cases, local police agencies have collaborated with their counterparts from Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and the United Kingdom to track down ‘dirty’ money transferred to South Africa. Millions of rand are involved.

 

The Cape Times reports that the provincial government is committed to fostering multi-sectoral co-operation to combat crime, including cross-border economic crime. It is cognisant of the numerous challenges involved, not least of which is the absence of provincial anti-crime boundaries. The precise nature of what is envisaged will have to be thrashed out in the lead-up to the Soccer World Cup in 2010.

 

The provincial government could take heart from, and perhaps complement, some emerging novel approaches to detecting economic crime. A recent strategy is the use of tax records to expose unexplained wealth. The South African Revenue Service has started examining the tax files of what it calls the top 500 ‘high net worth individuals’. Most have gross annual incomes in the region of R5 million (USD675, 675). The objective is to determine whether their known asset holdings have been correctly declared to tax authorities. Assets for scrutiny include trusts and share options. If SARS’ scrutiny excludes non-tax paying fugitives, it will fall short.

 

Drawing attention to the infamous problematic fugitive cases should not blind us to the successes that have been achieved in this area. There have been successful extraditions, notably of Jurgen Harksen, James Kilgore and Khalfan Khamis Mohamed.

 

In February 2006, the Asset Forfeiture Unit secured a court order to freeze a residential property on the Cape Town Waterfront belonging to a former Nigerian state governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. He is charged with 39 counts of money laundering in Nigeria. An application to sell the apartment, which is valued at R14 million (USD 2.06 million), was granted by the High Court in Cape Town in late July 2006.

 

Following a mutual assistance request, hearings occurred in the Cape Town Magistrates court, which yielded relevant evidence used in the trial of Chris Kuruneri in the High Court of Zimbabwe. The trial is yet to be concluded.

 

Charles Goredema, Organised Crime and Money Laundering Programme, ISS Cape Town Office