Arrest of senior former Saambou Bank officials - parliamentary statement (15 September 2005)More than three years after collapse of Saambou, these arrests are long overdue.
We hope that this will set new precedents when it comes to the prosecution of so-called white collar crimes. The implication that white collar crime is less damaging to our society, or deserves a lesser punishment should be dispelled once and for all. Not only does white collar crime undermine our ability to grow the economy and attract investments, they cause untold social harm to their victims.
White collar crime is not a victimless crime. When Saambou collapsed thousands of people watched their life savings, and their livelihoods, going down the drain. Far from being a mere transactional theft, this crime had a dire impact upon thousands of households and law-abiding citizens.
We hope that this prosecution will result in the culprits facing severe penalties and jail-terms. White collar criminals must get the unequivocal message that this society will not tolerate there heartless victimisation of law-abiding citizens simply because it is a non-violent crime.
We believe that this case must be only the first of many that demonstrate the special skills and capacity of the Scorpions to bring the perpetrators of sophisticated crimes to book.