Professor Jacob Mofokeng from the department of safety and security management at the Tshwane University of Technology has said Thabo Bester could not be living large by just robbing his victims, as highlighted in the media.
“The concept of brown envelopes referring to the movement of cash has been making rounds and is public knowledge. It is prevalent in South Africa.
“Bester is portrayed as someone intelligent. The fact that he could manage to convince Dr Nandipha to leave all she acquired for years, her prestige, family life and security into a life of crime, points to the fact that above matters of the heart, there was something more compelling,” he said.
Mofokeng said the business they wanted to establish, could have been used as a front to conceal what has been a source of his livelihood.
“The [grey]listing of South Africa by the FATF highlighted the lack of proper and effective control over organised crime. Many organised crime networks are operating and Bester may have links with some of these networks,” he said.
Mofokeng said it was possible Bester had skills and knowledge of how to take advantage of the justice system and benefit from its vulnerabilities, making a fortune out of illegal activities.
Economist Dawie Roodt said South Africa was a country with lax rules and it failed to enforce those lax rules.
One rule to avoid being greylisted was to have measures in place to avoid money laundering.
“Being greylisted isn’t black and white; it’s an impression of the country. The impression the world has of SA is that we aren’t reliable and the Bester case has just reaffirmed it again,” he said.
