Second African CIDOEC Regional Conference on Economic Crime
| Pages | 215-221 |
| Date | 01 January 1997 |
| Published date | 01 January 1997 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb025780 |
| Author | Chizu Nakajima |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance |
Journal of Financial Crime — Vol. 4 No. 3 — Analysis
Second African CIDOEC Regional Conference on
Economic Crime
Chizu Nakajima
The Second African Conference on Economic
Crime took place in Johannesburg from 17th to
19th July, 1996. The Conference was organised
under the auspices of the Centre for International
Documentation on Organised Crime (CIDOEC)
by the Police Science Sub-department of the Uni-
versity of South Africa, the Centre for Business
Law of the University of the Orange Free State,
the Office for Serious Economic Offences of the
Department of Justice of the Republic of South
Africa, the Commercial Crime Branch of the
South African Police Service and Business Against
Crime.
The conference commenced on Wednesday,
17th July with two workshops: the first on orga-
nised crime under the chairmanship of Professor
Barry A. K. Rider, Executive Director of CIDOEC
and Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal
Studies, and the second on money laundering
under the chairmanship of Ms Dianne Stafford, an
Assistant Director of the Legal Division of the
Commonwealth Secretariat. The first workshop
clearly identified the existence of organised crime
as a significant problem within the region and a
threat to the security and well-being of countries
in Africa. It was recognised that the threat of orga-
nised crime was not simply a domestic issue, but
has profound international implications. Organised
crime activity in South Africa operated cross-
border throughout the region and beyond. Fur-
thermore, there is considerable evidence of
organised crime groups operating internationally
from outside southern Africa within the region.
The South African police service reported instan-
ces of Chinese organised crime in the Cape Prov-
ince which was clearly related to activities outside
the region.
The workshop emphasised the importance of
developing and deploying intelligence, both at tac-
tical and strategic levels. The vital importance of
international cooperation was underlined, particu-
larly by the South Africa Police Service (SAPS)
who referred to the assistance that the Royal Hong
Kong Police Force had been able to give in regard
to Triad activities in the region. The significance
of attacking enterprise crime by depriving crimi-
nals of the opportunity to reinvest the proceeds of
their criminal activity was widely acknowledged. A
holistic approach to dealing with the problems of
organised crime was commended as the most sen-
sible strategy.
The workshop on money laundering control
recognised the role to be played in fighting serious
crime by legal provisions designed to deprive crim-
inals of their ill-gotten gains and outlawing
attempts to hide the source of such funds. The
vital importance of effective international networks
was emphasised. Without a common approach to
the problem of controlling dirty money, there was
a danger that it would settle in those jurisdictions
where there was least resistance. It was recognised
that there is a real risk of bad money driving out
good investment. On the other hand, it was
acknowledged that developing countries are rather
more concerned with controlling flight capital and
hot money than in interdicting the flow of drugs
money. It was accepted that the developed world
had different priorities in this regard, from coun-
tries whose economies were still developing or in
transition and which, by definition, are less stable.
Ms Diana Stafford emphasised the importance of
developing countries contributing to the inter-
national debate, and expressed the view that the
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) would be
willing to sensitise its initiatives to take more
account of such concerns.
The keynote address was delivered by Professor
Barry Rider on the morning of Thursday 18th
July. Professor Rider advocated the need to use all
weapons in the legal armoury against economic
crime and destabilisation. He emphasised that ini-
tiatives against serious economic crime had to be
realistic both in terms of their objectives and in the
evaluation of their success. He emphasised that
Page 215
To continue reading
Request your trial