Advocate Andy Mothibi, national director of public prosecutions at the National Prosecuting Authority.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has admitted that criminal syndicates now rely on digital platforms, complex financial structures and cross-border networks.
It says South Africa’s crime-fighting strategy must focus on disrupting entire criminal systems, rather than simply accumulating case numbers.
Speaking at the 19th Annual Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Africa Conference in Sandton this week, advocate Andy Mothibi, national director of public prosecutions at the NPA, said organised crime and corruption has become increasingly adaptive and interconnected, requiring law enforcement agencies to change how they investigate and prosecute cases.
“The objective is not simply more prosecutions. It is the disruption and dismantling of criminal systems.”
Mothibi identified four characteristics of the evolving threat – criminal networks exploiting institutional fragmentation and supply chains; the movement of money, evidence and criminal actors across borders; the use of technology and complex financial structures; as well as the involvement of professional enablers and shell companies to conceal illicit activity.
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He said this environment requires authorities to target key actors across illicit markets, dismantle dominant criminal operators, increase the cost of criminality, respond to region-specific threats and use the law strategically.
“Accountability requires more than exposure. It requires investigation, prosecution, asset recovery, administrative action, institutional reform and prevention.”
Mothibi placed asset recovery at the centre of the NPA’s response to corruption, arguing that taking away the financial benefits of crime is critical to disrupting criminal networks.
According to figures presented at the conference, the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit recorded 298 corruption-related freezing orders worth R10.181 billion since 1 April 2020.
During the period, R3.77 billion was confiscated or forfeited, while R5.825 billion was recovered. Of the recovered funds, R4.477 billion was paid into the Criminal Assets Recovery Account, with R1.347 billion returned to victims.
“Asset recovery removes criminal incentive, restores public resources and translates enforcement into tangible public value.”
Mothibi said asset recovery has also been central to the state’s response to allegations arising from state capture.
The figures presented show R8.85 billion in freezing orders, R3.08 billion in restraint orders and R5.44 billion in preservation orders linked to the state capture accountability response.
A further R2.85 billion was confiscated or forfeited, while R5.35 billion was recovered and R842 million paid to victims.
Tackling maladministration
Mothibi also linked the fight against maladministration to improving public services and restoring public confidence.
He said authorities need to address systemic weaknesses rather than treating individual cases in isolation, with measures including stronger ethical leadership, improved controls and transparency, and action on findings arising from investigations and oversight processes.
The NPA and Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, Special Investigating Unit, Public Protector and Auditor-General of South Africa all have roles to play in the accountability process, according to Mothibi.
He said consequence management should combine criminal prosecution and asset recovery with regulatory, professional and disciplinary action where appropriate.
“Consequence management is critical to breaking the culture of impunity and converting findings into visible accountability.”
Cross-border, tech-enabled crime
Mothibi’s comments come as criminal groups increasingly use technology and international networks to facilitate and conceal illicit activity.
Digital platforms can provide criminal actors with additional means to communicate, move money and coordinate activities, while shell companies and complex financial arrangements can make it more difficult for investigators to identify the beneficiaries of illicit transactions.
Mothibi said the response, therefore, needs to extend beyond individual suspects and cases to the structures that enable criminal activity.
His call includes following financial flows from the outset of investigations, converting intelligence and exposure into admissible evidence, protecting whistle-blowers and building partnerships across institutions and national borders.
“Justice becomes accessible when accountability is credible, coordinated and consequential.”
