OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 7.15pm.
HASTY amendments to legislation providing for the seizure of the assets of suspected criminals are to be made this week and the new bill is expected to be passed by the National Assembly by next Wednesday.
The newly re-elected chairman of the justice portfolio committee, Johnny de Lange, said during a departmental briefing on Monday that it was an “untenable” situation that the Assets Forfeiture Unit had seized the assets of people suspected of criminal activity but the courts had overturned the decisions.
This follows two High Court decisions which ordered the unit to return the items it had confiscated from people suspected of being involved in crime.
The courts held that the Act, which was passed on January 21 this year, did not provide for the seizure of assets acquired before this date.
The head of the unit, Willie Hofmeyer, told the committee the amendments contained in the Prevention of Crime Amendment Bill would allow the confiscation from suspected criminals of assets acquired since 1996.
Hofmeyer said however, that the findings in the two High Court cases would be challenged in the Constitutional Court and if they were successful, the cases against the two supsects would be reinstituted.
The cases involved a supected Cape Town gangster, Gavin Carolus, and the head of the Organised Crime Unit in Durban, Piet Meyer.
De Lange urged the committee to take care in formulating the amendments to avoid the likelihood of disputes over interpretations.