A forensic investigation into the disappearance of about R1-billion in Fidentia investors’ funds will begin in earnest as co-curators Dines Gihwala and George Papadakis delve into the company’s transactions. The two have been provisional curators since February 1.
Most people believe that corruption occurs to speed up approvals to which people are legally entitled, a survey has found. The number of people who believe this roughly equals the number of people who think that corruption is a means to ill-gotten gains. Business Against Crime and the German Technical Cooperation Agency commissioned the survey as part of business’s contribution to the South African National Anti-Corruption Forum.
The Democratic Alliance leadership race is hotting up in the run-up to the May conference at which the party will choose a successor to Tony Leon. Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille has now announced her intention to stand, adding her candidacy to those of Eastern Cape leader Athol Trollip and national chairperson Joseph Seremane. The Mail & Guardian explores the views of the three candidates on a range of policy issues
Tensions between the DA and one of its former leading lights, Raenette Taljaard, flared recently as a DA-backed blog attacked Taljaard’s leadership of the Helen Suzman Foundation. It has been suggested that the DA is seeking to exert greater influence over the foundation, which claims independence of any political party.
Fidentia mastermind Arthur Brown and group accountant Graham Maddock are behind bars this week for Fidentia’s failure to account for more than R200-million belonging to the Transport Sector Training Education Authority. The Scorpions say they have not yet tackled the almost R700-million missing from the Living Hands Trust and expect to make “quite a few” more arrests.
BEE poster-woman Danisa Baloyi is likely to step aside or resign from her position as a director of Absa on Friday. The bank has been embarrassed by Baloyi’s links with the Fidentia scandal. While it cannot ask for her resignation, bank executives have expressed concerns.
Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown lashed out at critics in the March edition of noseweek, accusing Frans Mahlangu, the principal officer of the Mineworkers Provident Fund, of accepting bribes. The media has celebrated Mahlangu as a whistle-blower for raising concerns about Fidentia Asset Management.
The huge scope of the investigation into the Brett Kebble empire became clear this week as details trickled in on a seizure of evidence by the Scorpions on Wednesday. The raids took place under the banner of Scorpions project “Empire K”, which focuses on the fraud carried out in the two main companies controlled by Kebble.
The Scorpions investigation into Brett Kebble’s murder is shifting focus from Glenn Agliotti as the main target to Clinton Nassif, the mining magnate’s security consultant. Nassif’s house in southern Johannesburg was among the premises raided countrywide by Scorpions investigators this week — even though Nassif’s status has been that of cooperating witness.
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/ 27 February 2007
The Codes of Good Practice on Black Economic Empowerment provide a standard framework for measuring empowerment across all sectors of the economy. According to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act of 2003, state organs and public entities must take the codes into consideration "as far as is reasonably possible".