2017-03-07 22:01

James de Villiers & Angelique Serrao, News24

Johannesburg – A total of R24 million was stolen from a plane at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday evening, sources told News24.

After the SAA flight landed, people in a marked police vehicle intercepted the money. A white Mercedes-Benz is believed to have been used in the operation. 

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said a high-level investigation, involving all law enforcement agencies, was underway. He declined to divulge further information. 

Airports Company South Africa spokesperson Trevor Jones said there had been a robbery, but he could not confirm the amount of money stolen. 

Flights were unaffected.

Jones denied that R24 million has been stolen, saying that facts had not been determined yet. 

The presence of marked police vehicles at the robbery, suggests that either police were involved or there is a new gang using police equipment.

This is not a new phenomenon and the airport appears to be a place where “police-linked” crimes have taken place in the past.

IPID head Robert McBride told Parliament last month that one of the cases they were investigating involved SAPS and Hawks members shooting at each other, in what appeared to have been be a fight over drugs at OR Tambo International Airport last year.

McBride said police officials were killing each other in order to get their hands on confiscated drugs. He said they were illegally shifting quantities of drugs through domestic arrivals.

A few weeks later, head of the Hawks, Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza, dismissed the claims. He told MPs he did not know what McBride's motive was to say there was a drug fight between the police and Hawks.

He said his members were involved in operations at all major international airports, to deal with drug smuggling, but not in a fight with SAPS members over drugs.

“What I can confirm is that we are having Hawks members at OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town Airport and King Shaka Airport,” he said.

Hawks members at the international airports were cracking down on drug smuggling, he said.

Police officers assisting gangs in robberies is nothing new. In 2014, police vehicles were being used to hijack trucks carrying cigarettes, IOL reported.

The robbery is not the first at OR Tambo. In the second half of 2001, at the then-named Johannesburg International Airport, $6,5 million was stolen from a Swissair cargo plane, and almost $10 million from a KLM cargo plane.

According to The Times, there had been robberies in the cargo hold much more recently.

In October last year, the paper reported that armed robbers posing as police entered the AFS Cargo warehouse at the airport, making off with over a ton of cellphones and laptop computers. This was allegedly not an isolated incident.

“Swissport Cargo has been hit three times, Menzies cargo twice and a number of smaller freight handlers have been targeted since May. Sources say the same modus operandi is used,” The Times reported.

Read More: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/breaking-r24m-police-car-heist-at-ort-20170307

2017-03-07 22:01

James de Villiers & Angelique Serrao, News24

Johannesburg – A total of R24 million was stolen from a plane at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday evening, sources told News24.

After the SAA flight landed, people in a marked police vehicle intercepted the money. A white Mercedes-Benz is believed to have been used in the operation. 

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said a high-level investigation, involving all law enforcement agencies, was underway. He declined to divulge further information. 

Airports Company South Africa spokesperson Trevor Jones said there had been a robbery, but he could not confirm the amount of money stolen. 

Flights were unaffected.

Jones denied that R24 million has been stolen, saying that facts had not been determined yet. 

The presence of marked police vehicles at the robbery, suggests that either police were involved or there is a new gang using police equipment.

This is not a new phenomenon and the airport appears to be a place where “police-linked” crimes have taken place in the past.

IPID head Robert McBride told Parliament last month that one of the cases they were investigating involved SAPS and Hawks members shooting at each other, in what appeared to have been be a fight over drugs at OR Tambo International Airport last year.

McBride said police officials were killing each other in order to get their hands on confiscated drugs. He said they were illegally shifting quantities of drugs through domestic arrivals.

A few weeks later, head of the Hawks, Lieutenant-General Berning Ntlemeza, dismissed the claims. He told MPs he did not know what McBride's motive was to say there was a drug fight between the police and Hawks.

He said his members were involved in operations at all major international airports, to deal with drug smuggling, but not in a fight with SAPS members over drugs.

“What I can confirm is that we are having Hawks members at OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town Airport and King Shaka Airport,” he said.

Hawks members at the international airports were cracking down on drug smuggling, he said.

Police officers assisting gangs in robberies is nothing new. In 2014, police vehicles were being used to hijack trucks carrying cigarettes, IOL reported.

The robbery is not the first at OR Tambo. In the second half of 2001, at the then-named Johannesburg International Airport, $6,5 million was stolen from a Swissair cargo plane, and almost $10 million from a KLM cargo plane.

According to The Times, there had been robberies in the cargo hold much more recently.

In October last year, the paper reported that armed robbers posing as police entered the AFS Cargo warehouse at the airport, making off with over a ton of cellphones and laptop computers. This was allegedly not an isolated incident.

“Swissport Cargo has been hit three times, Menzies cargo twice and a number of smaller freight handlers have been targeted since May. Sources say the same modus operandi is used,” The Times reported.

Terrorism Financing and the Recruitment of Foreign Terrorist Fighters Workshop, Pretoria, 28 Feb – 02 Mar 2017

According to the UN Security Council, terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaida, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as Da’esh) and associated groups have attracted over 30,000 Foreign Terrorist Fighters from over 100 Member States. Increasingly, terrorist groups are working to radicalize individuals and incite them to leave their homes to become foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs). These groups leverage the Internet and social media for recruitment, creating a truly global security threat.

In view of these developments, a 3-day workshop on Terrorist Financing and Recruitment of Foreign Terrorist Fighters for senior managers, from various law enforcement institutions, from 15 Southern and Eastern African countries was held in Pretoria, South Africa, from 28 February to 02 March.  

In his opening remarks, Mr. Fitz-Roy Drayton from the UNODC, highlighted the need for buy-in from senior managers, to enable measures to be put in place to combat terrorism financing. He added that the Balkan Route – which is the traditional route for smuggling heroin, is progressively being difficult and as a result traffickers are resorting to transporting drugs by road to the Indian Ocean coast. The drugs are then transported by sea to the Swahili coast and then to Southern Africa. “We need to squeeze the flow of funding to the terrorist groups in order to stop the recruitment of FTFs, who are increasingly constituting a serious danger to their States of origin, transit, destination, as well as neighbouring zones of armed conflict in which they are active”, he added.

The value of sharing information – relationships -relationships - relationships

“Relationships, Relationships, Relationships“, was the theme for the workshop which was characterised by group discussions and interactive activities centred on sharing information. Because these challenges are by their nature international, the workshop was to enhance international and internal cooperation as attempts to combat the threat through a purely domestic approach will not work.

Information sharing is key to identifying foreign terrorist fighters and preventing the funding of terrorist activities across borders. Key activities from the workshop included:

-        Analysis of strength and weaknesses of current infrastructures in combating terrorism

-        Analysis of strength and weaknesses of terrorist organisations.

-        A critical analysis of the terrorist funding cycle – raise- store- move and use

-        Terrorist funding case studies

-        Multi-Agency and public private partnerships, and

-        Preparation of National Risk Assessments

Case studies

The success of rapid information sharing is clear.

In December 2014, three individuals – two men aged 18 and 27, and a 15-year-old boy – wanted in Spain on terrorism-related charges were arrested in Bulgaria at a border checkpoint with Turkey, just hours after INTERPOL issued an alert. They were believed to be heading to join insurgents in Syria.

Another individual wanted for terrorist offences was apprehended in Lebanon on his way to Syria in October 2014, thanks to Belgium’s decision to issue an international alert through INTERPOL.

Operational exchange

ARINSA helps to bring together investigators, prosecutors and various law enforcement agents from 12 countries in Southern Africa for operational exchange on anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing. Comprising member countries mostly from Southern Africa and other international organizations, the ARINSA network meets regularly to foster international cooperation and exchange information on best practises and achievements in tracing the proceeds of crime.

Future Training

The senior managers were tasked with selecting staff from within their respective departments who are going to receive, similar but more operationally centred workshops throughout the year. The senior managers will then meet again in December to review progress. 

Access to the Course Materials on the Link Below : http://arinsa.org/mod/glossary/view.php?id=26&mode=entry&hook=139

Pictures can be downloaded from the following link: http://arinsa.org/mod/lightboxgallery/view.php?id=121

Satao II, about 50 years old, is believed to have been shot with a poisoned arrow in Tsavo national park, Kenya.

One of Africa’s oldest and largest elephants has been killed by poachers in Kenya, according to a conservation group that protects a dwindling group of “big tuskers” estimated to be as few as 25.

Richard Moller of the Tsavo Trust said Satao II, about 50 years old, was found dead on Monday and was believed to have been shot with a poisoned arrow. Two poachers believed to be responsible for the killing were apprehended not long after his carcass was spotted in routine aerial reconnaissance of the Tsavo national park.

“Luckily, through the work we do with the Kenyan Wildlife Service, we were able to find the carcass before the poachers could recover the ivory,” said Moller.

The elephant, named after another giant killed in 2014, was beloved by visitors to the park. Moller said about 15 tuskers, named for impressive tusks that nearly scrape the ground, remained in Kenya out of an estimated worldwide population of 25. “They are icons, they are ambassadors for elephants,” he said.

Satao II’s death comes two days after a KWS officer was killed during an anti-poaching incident in the park, the second to die in less than a month at the hands of poachers, according to the wildlife authority.

The number of African elephants has fallen by about 111,000 to 415,000 over the past decade, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The killing shows no sign of abating, with approximately 30,000 elephants slaughtered for their ivory every year, mainly to satisfy demand in the Asian market for products coveted as a traditional medicine or as status symbols.

Moller said one of Satao II’s tusks weighed 51.5kg and the other 50.5kg. “I am pretty gutted really. This particular elephant was one that was very approachable, one of those easy old boys to find. Many are the others are much more difficult to see,” Moller said. “He has been through lots of droughts and probably other attempts at poaching.”

The Tsavo covers about 16,000 sq miles (42,000 sq km) and is a major challenge for rangers to patrol.

The Tsavo Trust helps monitor the elephants through aerial and ground reconnaissance, and works closely with KWS. Moller praised the “swift action” that led to the arrests.

Suspended municipal manager's Mercedes, carport seized in corruption probe

Derrick Spies, News24 Correspondent

(File, Duncan Alfreds, News24)

Port Elizabeth - A Mercedes Benz and a carport belonging to suspended Mnquma municipal manager Sindile Tantsi have been seized by the National Prosecuting Authority's asset forfeiture unit (AFU).

A preservation order was granted to the AFU by the courts.

Tsepo Ndwalaza, regional NPA spokesperson, said the black C 320 CDI automatic AMG Mercedes Benz and carport were allegedly kickbacks Tantsi had received in connection with a R10m tender issued by the Mnquma municipality two years ago.

Tantsi was arrested along with Butterworth businessman Sive Nombembe on February 14 on charges of corruption relating to a plastic bag tender awarded to Nombembe's business, Big Event Boy (Pty) Ltd.

"In order to make sure that the tender was not cancelled, Nombembe bought the Mercedes Benz from Noor Auto, Durban, and had it delivered to Tantsi and paid Hide 'n Shade CC of Kokstad for the construction of the carport at Mr Tantsi's homestead at Chibini Village, Ntabankulu," said Ndwalaza.

"These are deemed as gratification in the Corruption Act and are liable to forfeiture to the State," he said.

Ndwalaza said the Mercedes Benz was purchased in October 2015 and had an estimated value of R202 949; the carport was constructed for R35 000.

"Tantsi and Nombembe will be served with the preservation order and be given an opportunity to oppose the granting of a forfeiture order against the kickbacks. Should they fail [to do so] the kickback will be forfeited to the State and the proceeds thereof be used to bolster law enforcement," said Ndwalaza.

Tantsi and Nombembe are scheduled to re-appear on March 27 in the Mthatha Magistrate's Court.

Malawi President fires minister Chaponda over ‘Maizegate’ scandal

February 22, 2017 Thom Chiumia -Nyasa Times

Malawi’s Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development, George Chaponda has been fired by President Peter Mutharika, the first top government figure to be pushed out to pave way for smooth investigations towards the suspicious maize purchase from Zambia, State House has confirmed.

Several quarters including the Malawi Law Society, Opposition Members of Parliament and the Civil Society community have been asking President Mutharika to fire Chaponda for his involvement and implication in the controversial maize deal.

Leader of opposition Lazarus Chakwera said the President “needs to do the needful” to have Chaponda sacked.

President Mutharika cracked the whip and fired his trusted minister.

Presidential spokesman Mgeme Kalilani confirmed to Nyasa Times in a statement.

“This is to inform the public that using powers vested in him by the Constitution, His Excellency the President, Prof. Arthur Peter Mutharika has decided to relieve Dr. George Chaponda; M.P of his responsibilities as Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development with immediate effect.

“With this development, all matters requiring the attention of the Minister of Agriculture should be referred to the President,” Kalilani said.

The sack comes after the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) raided Chaponda’s residence in Lilongwe where they conducted a search and seizure exercise.

During the exercise ACB seized cash between US$58,000 and MK127 million which was found stashed in suitcases. ACB deputy director general Mr Reyneck Matemba confirmed the amounts.

Blantyre-based private practice lawyer Jai Banda who is an expert in financial crimes and money laundering said there is no law that stipulates the maximum aount of money a person can keep on him.

But Banda said ACB can use the Corrupt Practices Act to prosecute Chapona if he fails to explain how he got the money.

Banda also said there is no crime in keeping foreign currency but it should be proved that Chaponda obtained it from a legal dealer.

ACB director general Lucas Kondowe said he could not discuss the operation in the media because the bureau “is a constitutional body” thar operates independently.

- See more at: http://www.nyasatimes.com/malawi-president-fires-minister-chaponda-maizegate-scandal/#sthash.Zz0TRJjf.dpuf

SARS confiscates 271kg of cocaine

Pretoria - The South African Revenue Service (SARS) on Saturday confiscated 271kg of cocaine with a street value of R78 million at OR Tambo International Airport – one of the biggest cocaine busts ever.

“It marks the biggest ever cocaine bust by customs officials in South Africa,” said SARS in a statement.

The drugs were en route from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Nairobi, Kenya, and found in a cargo warehouse during routine operations.

“The specific shipment indicated as “cosmetics” on official documentation was identified for closer inspection through customs profiling techniques,” said SARS.

A physical inspection was conducted after narcotic detector dogs reacted positively to the cargo. SARS officials found hair products packed in boxes.

“A drug test on a number of randomly selected containers all gave an immediate positive reaction to cocaine. The 271 kg cocaine is valued at R78 million and was handed over to the police for further investigation,” said SARS. – SAnews.gov.za

R9.2m currency bust at OR Tambo Airport

Pretoria - Currency worth R9.2 million was found inside the luggage of a 60-year-old passenger at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said on Thursday.

“SARS Customs made a massive currency bust of 660 000 US dollars to the value of R9.2 million at OR Tambo International Airport on Monday,” said the revenue service.

The money was stashed in denominations of 20, 50 and 100 dollar bills in two cooler bags.

“Customs officers received information that the passenger, en route to Indonesia via Dubai, was in possession of undeclared currency. The passenger was formally charged with smuggling and failure to declare goods in contravention of the Customs and Excise Act. 

“A criminal case has been registered with the Department of Priority Crime Investigations (The Hawks),” said SARS.

Foreign currency threshold

The amount of foreign currency that South African residents may have in their possession when leaving the country is to the value of R160 000 per adult and R50 000 per child under the age of 12, per calendar year.

When taking currency out of the country, prior clearance from an authorised dealer on an official letterhead must be produced to customs.

Without such clearance only an amount equalling R25 000 is allowed per person. –SAnews.gov.za

SENATE ENDORSES MONEY LAUNDERING AMENDMENT BILL

Senate has endorsed Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill, 2016 without amendments.

This is after the Leader of the House and Minister of Finance, Dr 'Mamphono Khaketla piloted the aforementioned Bill for the House to endorse after it had resolved itself into Committee.

She asserted that the object of the Bill is to effect amendments to the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act No.4 of 2008 known as the Parent Act in order to address deficiencies established by the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group Mutual Evaluation report of Lesotho of September, 2011 so that the Legal and Institutional Framework to implement measures to fight money laundering and terrorist financing can to a large extent comply with mandatory international standards.

Dr Khaketla further divulged that the Bill thus seeks to provide Lesotho Revenue Authority (LRA), Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offences (DCEO), and Lesotho Mounted Police Services (LMPS) powers to investigate money laundering and terrorist financing offences, saying such powers were initially confined to the DCEO under the Parent Act. She submitted that the three entities are collectively referred to as competent authorities under the Bill.

The Bill further seeks on the other hand to designate such institutions as the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL), Law Society of Lesotho, Lesotho Institute of Accountants (LIA) and other relevant institutions to supervise and monitor compliance of institutions under obligations arising out of the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, its regulations and guidelines and directive made pursuant to it.

The Finance Minister hence said the Bill seeks to address section 14 of the Parent Act which establishes the FIU by incorporating enabling provisions that are requirements for an independent and operational FIU per Financial Action Task Force Recommendation 29, also stating  that the Bill enhances criminalisation of money laundering and terrorist financing offences by making it possible for the intent and knowledge as prerequisite of such crimes to be inferred from objective factual circumstances.

“The Bill also makes it possible to charge a person of the money laundering offence or terrorist financing offence irrespective of whether he or she was in Lesotho or elsewhere at the time of the commission of the crime,” said Minister Khaketla. 

She added that the Bill has further enhanced criminal sanctions so that they can be applied proportionately as it introduces civil and administrative sanctions which can be imposed on a person irrespective of whether criminal charges or criminal sanctions have been imposed upon such a person.

Meanwhile, she commended the House for the efforts it made towards improving the bill, saying this is not an easy amendment hence acknowledging the efforts made by the House of going though and scrutinizing the bill so to make inputs where necessary.

It was to this effect that Members of the College of Chiefs took turns to support the Amendment and the Likhoele Principal Chief Lerotholi Seeiso noted that they have learned from past mistakes and stated his belief that it is only befitting that several stakeholders be brought together to enable thorough and transparent investigation of individuals' bank accounts; a factor which he said should not be a problem to anyone who is not guilty. 

Principal Chief Nthati Bereng of Phamong on the other hand said the Bill would help curb money laundering practices if put into operation.

More Bills are due for piloting this week.

Source: LENA 20/10/2016

Malawi risks being blacklisted on the international financial market

By Chilenje Chilenje on Jan 26, 2017

Malawi could be unrecogised on the international financial market should Parliament fail to pass the Financial Crime Bill by 15 February 2017, Malawi24 can report.

The bill aims at repealing the Money Laundering, Proceeds of Serious Crime and Terrorist Financing Act currently being used to hear cashgate cases in court which is weak as it only attracts maximum 10 years imprisonment.

This legal framework seeks to create an independent Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) replacing the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Malawi Parliament will have to deliberate on the bill before its deadline.

The bill also introduces enhanced penalties for offences including money laundering, terrorism financing and financing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction with a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of MK500 million, and revocation of business licence for a legal person.

If the bill is not passed by the deadline, financial firms will not be able to transact businesses internationally.

This has since forced the national assembly mid-year budget review having the Financial Crime Bill featuring highly on the agenda.

The house meets from February 6 to March 2, 2017.

In a press statement released early this week, Speaker Richard Msowoya is summoning all cabinet ministers with their deputies and members of Parliament (MPs) to attend the meeting in the capital Lilongwe.

Parliament is in haste to host budget review proceedings amidst panic to pass the Financial Crime Bill whose deadline is February 15 that failure to do so the country risks being blacklisted on the international financial market.

Malawi24 understands that some financial institutions in the country will be affected negatively if the bill doesn’t meet its passing deadline.

In December 2016, Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe tabled the bill in Parliament but members referred it to the house’s committees on legal affairs and Budget and Finance for further scrutiny before it is passed into law.

The committees which have already started consultation with officials from FIU, Malawi Law Commission and Bankers Association of Malawi will also meet Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) and Economics Association of Malawi (Ecama) before the August house reconvenes next week.

https://malawi24.com/2017/01/26/malawi-risks-blacklisted-international-financial-market/

One week in Harare! The Class-room, the Court Room and Confiscation

From 28 November to 2 December UNODC and the Asset Forfeiture Unit in Zimbabwe colloborated on a workshop on Taking the Proceeds from Crime. This was the latest in a  long list of colloboration between the authorities in Zimbabwe,  UNODC and the ARINSA network.

In 2012, the authorities in Zimabwe worked with UNODC  in drafting and enacting the Money Laundering and Proceed sof Crime Act. This provided Zimababwe with state of the art legislation that included non-conviction based forfeiture.

A number of staff from the National Prosecuting Authority have also attended the Prosecutor Placement Programme. This initiative run in colloboration with the National Prosecuting Authority in South Africa is an intensive course covering all aspects of money laundering and proceeds of crime. The staf from Zimbabwe that attended this programeme now form the nucleus of the Asset Forfeiture Unit.

It is against that background that it should be seen that there would be benefit in delivering training to a wider audience in Zimbabwe itself.

The “National Workshop on Taking the Proceeds from Crime” was a practical exercise based workshop on a case study. It was attended by staff from the key agencies that are involved in tracing the proceeds of crime. The UNODC worked very closely with the Asset Forfeiture Unit in delivering the workshop. The participants worked on

• the mapping of criminal associations,drafting of affidavits,
  • drafting money laundering charges
  •  and the presentation of confiscation cases before a court.

 Having received the training in these areas the participants were asked to put into practice what they had learned. One of the highlights of the week was the court work. The participants presented the case for prosecution, defence and interested third parties based upon the case study that they had worked on all week.

MEANWHILE…

Whilst the workshop was going on in court 14 of the Rotten Row Magistrates’ Court, in Harare, there were two other significant developments.

Firstly, judgment was being delivered in the first money laundering conviction in Zimbabwe’s history.

Secondly, the prosecution of the so-called Boko-Harare gang. This gang of villains that carried out a number of robberies in Zimbabwe for many months before they were caught were being prosecuted. An application will be made to confiscate their assets.

This all represents the culmination of years of cooperation between the authorities in Zimbabwe and UNODC.  This will hopefully will ensure that in Zimbabwe “crime does not pay”.