Specialised Commercial
Crime Unit
5th Floor John Ross House
Victoria Embankment & Johnson Lane
Durban
031 3356600
Who We Are

Specialist Prosecutors within the NPA
tasked with the investigation and
prosecution of commercial crime
cases . We are known as the SCCU.
We are based in Pretoria,
Johannesburg, Durban , Port
Elizabeth and Cape Town.
What We Do

We prosecute commercial crime
cases emanating mainly from the
Commercial Branch of the South
African Police Services. We typically
deal with cases such as Fraud, Theft,
Corruption, and various other
statutory offences.
How We Do This
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We work in collaboration with the
victims of commercial crimes, the
police and other stakeholders.
The prosecutor and the investigator
strategise the investigation together
at the inception of the case.
We try to adhere to procedural
guidelines aligned to target dates.
Fraud
An unlawful and intentional
making of a misrepresentation
which causes actual prejudice
or potential prejudice to
another
Syndicated Fraud
This will include the inclusion of
two or more people who
conspire or work together in a
furtherance of a common
purpose.
Detection

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Phone calls to Hotline numbers
Irregular claims by members of
medical Aid

High Claim rate by Service
Providers
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Audit Processes reveal
discrepancies
Resources Available to the state
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It has been noted that in many of
the cases involving Fraud within the
Medical Aids or Health Care
Services, there is surely a private
investigator or Forensic Investigator.
State is presented with investigation
already completed by these
individuals and often followed by an
audit report or affidavit.
Problems Experienced
The Defence is very quick to object to
this evidence referring to the right to
Fair Trial being compromised. Section
215 of the Constitution Act 2000 of
1993. Reference is made to the term
complainant Driven investigation
Factors to be considered
by the state
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The proper evidential proof regarding
documentary evidence is available.

The chain of evidence is preserved
The relevant report and statements are
appropriate for use in court
The collection of
Documentary Evidence

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The investigator must ensure that he\she
had authority \permission to extract the
information or documents.
A mandate from the complainant authorising
the private company\individual to
investigate is crucial.
Chain of Evidence

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Details of individuals in control of these
documents must be kept so that a
statement may be obtained at a later stage.
Details of every person who deals with the
documents from inception right up and until
the document is handed to the police for
prosecution must be noted.
The Report or Affidavit
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Advisable to liaise with the
prosecutor to ascertain the depth of
the report.
This will relate to the period of the
investigation and the number of
counts that the investigation reveals.
Report must be an easy read.
Case Law
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There are 2 leading case law in this
area of prosecution
State v Botha and others (1) 1995(2)
SARC 598, court held that evidence of
a private investigator is admissible,
where the evidence was not irregularly
obtained.
R v Sole 2004 (2) SACR 599 (Les)
Evidence of an expert or layman which
serves to place evidence in a
manageable form in a complex case is
admissible.
Case Law continued

Once the SAPS is involved,
the investigator must work
under the supervision and in
the presence of the state or
at the state’s request.
Case Study
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There may be many different methods
in which the Fraud is committed.
Dealing with the more complex
matters, it would relate to Service
Providers e.g. Doctor creating false
claims, but also roping in other doctors,
pathology laboratories, social workers.
Psychologists and nurses.
Doctors have charged for medication
not dispensed.
Service providers have falsely claimed
for multiple consultations.
The End…