The number of people convicted of commercial crimes has significantly decreased over the past two decades, even as the number of reported crimes has increased.
In South Africa, the National Prosecuting Authority has established a dedicated unit, the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit (SCCU), to handle prosecutions for fraud, corruption, and money laundering.
Additionally, the country has Specialised Commercial Crime Courts (SCCCs) where most of the cases from the SCCU are prosecuted.
Recent research by GroundUp suggests that both the unit and the courts are securing fewer convictions than before, despite more courts being opened and more magistrates and prosecutors being appointed.
Dullah Omar Institute Senior Researcher Jean Redpath noted that, despite initial promise, the anticipated benefits of specialisation have not materialised, according to public records.
Over the years, more specialised courts were established, but the number of convictions per court declined.
By 2018, ten specialised courts were averaging only about 76 convictions per court each year.
By 2023, the number of specialised courts had increased to 22, yet these courts were delivering only 15 convictions each year.
“This is a five times lower rate than was present in 1999-2001, and a 13 times lower productivity than in 2005/6, when the Scorpions were in operation,” said Redpath.
According to Redpath, a significant bottleneck seems to be in the investigation process.
In the year 2023/24, over 128,000 commercial crime cases were reported to the police, but only 15,000 arrests were made.
Additionally, prosecutors’ productivity has declined. In 2018/19, each prosecutor in the SCCU secured an average of six convictions per year.
By 2023/24, this average had dropped to just 1.5 convictions per prosecutor.
Head of Communications at the NPA, Bulelwa Makeke, said that while the number of prosecutions has decreased, the SCCU still maintains a 90.2% conviction rate in complex commercial crime cases.
She said that 96 money laundering prosecutions were initiated in the past quarter.
Since its establishment in 1999, Makeke said the specialised courts have significantly expanded their mandate, evolving from handling lower-complexity cases to prosecuting serious, organised, and high-level commercial crimes.
SCCC and SCCU
The courts and unit were established in 1999, consisting of two specialised courts and 20 prosecutors whose goal was to enhance efficiency and improve case outcomes.
There was no immediate increase in convictions after the introduction of the Specialised Commercial Crime Courts (SCCCs) and the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU).
In fact, the number of completed commercial crime cases in 1999 and 2000 was lower than in 1997 and 1998, as noted by Redpath.
“This was an early warning that the SCCCs may not be the panacea for commercial crime that they were intended to be.”
During this period, two magistrates in the specialised courts delivered 171 judgments, resulting in 150 convictions.
One of the magistrates had only started in July and thus worked for only half a year.
Based on these figures, approximately 100 convictions per specialised court per year are likely to involve less complex cases with amounts under R500,000.
The National Prosecuting Authority’s Directorate of Special Operations, also known as the Scorpions, was established in 2001 to investigate and prosecute complex commercial crimes.
Over the years, more specialised courts were opened, and by 2005, courts were operational in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, and Port Elizabeth.
In the 2005/06 financial year, the NPA’s specialised unit finalised 2,271 cases and achieved 857 convictions, averaging more than 200 convictions per specialised court.
The Scorpions were disbanded in January 2009, and the responsibility for serious commercial crime investigations was transferred to the South African Police Service’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks.
