Your duty to report commercial crime

NELSPRUIT – Commercial crime has become an epidemic in our society.

The investigating and prosecuting authorities are unable to fight it without the assistance of the general public.

However, the latter, for a variety of reasons, is not reporting commercial crime to the authorities.

Mr Carl Adendorff of Adendorff Attorneys in Nelspruit explains how the public can contribute to the successful investigation of cases such as fraud, corruption and extortion.

“Due to the increase in fraud, corruption, extortion, theft, forgery and uttering forged documents – known as ‘commercial crime’ – it has become necessary to impose a legal duty (Section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act ) on certain people, who know or ought reasonably to have known or suspected that another person has committed such commercial crime, to report those persons to the SAPS.

Failure to report the knowledge or suspicion renders the person who should have reported, guilty of a crime (failing to report) and he/she can be sentenced to a fine or a maximum period of imprisonment of 10 years,” explains Adendorff.

He adds, however, that the obligation to report only arises when the commercial crime has a value of R100 000 or more.

“If you think you may have an obligation to report, take legal advice and report.

It is the right thing to do, and if we all do this we can fight commercial crime in our country,” he concludes.