We want to use criminals’ cash to fight criminals – NPA’s Cronje
The newly appointed NPA investigator has put in a bid for money received from the Assets Forfeiture Unit to fund her directorate’s work.
Advocate Hermione Cronje will head up the NPA’s Investigating Directorate in the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions. Picture: Screenshot.
At a media briefing on Friday, advocate Hermione Cronje, the new head of the Investigating Directorate in the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, outlined the work that her unit would be focusing on.
The unit, which will be located in the office of Shamila Batohi, would be tasked with investigating common law offences including fraud, forgery, theft, and any offence involving dishonesty, according to a statement issued by the presidency.
According to Cronje, the new unit would be probing cases that stemmed from the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture.
In terms of funding, Cronje said she has put in a bid for money received from the Assets Forfeiture Unit to fund her directorate’s work.
If this is approved, it means some of the money seized by Treasury from criminals will be redirected to fighting criminality.
Cronje’s investigative unit has three major priorities, she said. These are fighting corruption in the criminal justice system, fighting corruption taking place at state-owned enterprises, and fighting high profile cases of private corruption.
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She added that she wanted to go after the “foot soldiers” and the “masterminds” behind corruption.
Without giving details as to which cases she was working on, Cronje said some of the cases had progressed significantly. She said the cases would be put through a process of peer review.
Cronje said that while her newly formed unit “wants to act” quickly on corruption, she also wanted it to develop its “capacity and understanding” and that it would be a challenge to balance these two requirements.
She added that members of various institutions and organisations had offered their services for the new unit, which she said was a good sign. She said that her directorate would be sourcing skilled people from the private sector.
Cronje also announced that her investigative directorate would be joined by two new members, human rights advocate Geoff Budlender and advocate Thanda Mngwengwe, formerly of the Scorpions.
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)
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