Much of the news recently has been dominated by the activities of Mr Barry Tannenbaum, who has allegedly been carrying on a fraud scheme which appears to have duped hundreds of well-heeled investors in South Africa and abroad. The amounts involved have been the subject of wild speculation with figures of R10 and R14 billion reported in the press. However, because money is often circulated or re-invested in a scheme like this, the actual losses are likely to be smaller than that - but by anybody’s reckoning this will be the largest fraud ever perpetrated in South Africa if the allegations against Mr Tannenbaum are correct. Read more...

It has become clear that industrial espionage and theft of information will become 'the crimes' of the new millennium. In no other way is it possible to obtain so much economic advantage with so little effort. Since by far the most information these days is stored on computers, it has become easy for hackers and other technologically advanced criminals to “misappropriate” masses of valuable information without leaving a trace. Read more...

By Mandy Munro-Smith

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is intent on clamping down on corrupt tendering practices in South Africa, saying Govenment has to 'clean up it's act'. 'It is high time that tender defaulters are named and shamed', Mandy Munro-Smith, a partner at commercial law firm Bowman Gilfillan, said in Johannesburg yesterday. Read more...

By Matthew Purchase

Every good spy film I’ve ever watched has involved some combination of interrogation and lie-detector tests to assist the hero in unravelling the villain’s plot for global domination. Similarly, companies and organisations in South Africa are increasingly turning to the same measures in a forensic context to protect themselves against fraud and theft. Read more...

By Tanya Viljoen

In response to criminals misusing technology to further their criminal activities, the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002 (“RICA”) came into force in 2005. The aim of the Act is to regulate certain aspects of communications and to legalise the interception of communications in specific instances, for example, where it is reasonably believed that a serious offence is about to be committed. Read more...

Disciplinary codes and policies used by employers often contain strict guidelines in regard to time periods for holding disciplinary hearings. Whilst employers are generally required to follow agreed time periods set out in their disciplinary codes, failure to do so does not necessarily render such disciplinary procedures unfair. Read more...