The recent killings of auditors, whistle-blowers and legal professionals are crippling accountability, weakening the rule of law and endangering economic growth, deputy finance minister David Masondo has warned.
Speaking at the Moneyweb Economy and Investing Summit in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Masondo called for urgent action from the criminal justice system to curb the killings of individuals combating or exposing financial crimes. His remarks follow the callous murder of insolvency lawyer Bouwer van Niekerk on Friday.
“Even if the country exits the FATF [Financial Action Task Force] grey list … it is vital that we continue to improve and strengthen our systems. We must make the country a jurisdiction in which financial crime is difficult to commit and hard to get away with,” Masondo said.
“We must start by demonstrating our capacity to deal with the recent killings of our auditors, forensic investigators, whistle-blowers and legal professionals. Our criminal justice system must act urgently to uphold justice and stop these heinous acts. These attacks cripple accountability, weaken the rule of law, and endanger economic growth.”
Van Niekerk is the latest business rescue expert to be slain after the double murders of insolvency practitioners Cloete Murray and his son, Thomas, two years ago — in a yet-to-be-solved hit. Another prominent case is that of Babita Deokaran, a Gauteng health department official who exposed procurement fraud during the Covid-19 pandemic and was assassinated in 2021.
The pattern of attacks is weakening accountability at precisely the moment SA needs to demonstrate its commitment to fighting financial crime. The issue is particularly pressing as the FATF, the global anti-money-laundering watchdog, is set to decide whether to remove SA from its grey list.
SA was placed on the grey list in 2023 for failing to demonstrate adequate enforcement against money-laundering and terrorist financing. The country has since completed all 22 FATF action items and is now awaiting the October 2025 FATF Plenary, which will consider a delisting.
Broader message
Masondo’s warning about the killings was part of a broader message. He told delegates that the government remained “serious about growing the economy”, with a central focus on lowering the cost of doing business.
“There is no doubt that promotion of a higher rate of economic growth is one of the most important challenges facing SA,” Masondo said.
“Historical growth rates have been subdued, particularly over the past decade or so, and have been insufficient to offset population increases, leading to declining GDP per capita and rising unemployment, poverty and inequality,” he said, adding that subdued economic growth was generating further weaknesses in other macroeconomic fundamentals, including high levels of public debt and declining foreign investment.
Masondo said the cost of doing business and living showed up in high prices that businesses and South Africans had to pay for goods and services, noting that borrowing costs, energy tariffs, freight logistics and data charges all fed into the economy’s overall competitiveness.
“It is when there is crime and corruption that the cost of doing business is high,” he said.
Masondo noted that recent geopolitical tensions had created a more complex and uncertain global trading environment, which is likely to weigh on economic growth.
“It is for this reason that while we continue to negotiate a better trade deal with the US, we are also seeking to increase the diversification of trade partners exemplified by the recent trade agreement with China on stone fruit.”
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