Zorena Jantze
THE defence lawyer of three men implicated in the Fishrot corruption case, Vas Soni, held no punches back with regard to proving that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) conducted investigations unlawfully, stating that the commission is not allowed to investigate offences under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).
Soni, who represents former justice minister Sacky Shanghala, James Hatuikulipi and Pius Mwatelulo, in the High Court on Friday continued his cross-examinations of ACC investigator Andreas Kanyangela before Judge Shafimana Ueitele.
“The question is, is the ACC entitled to investigate POCA- related matters? We need to identify the extent to which the police were involved,” Soni queried in court.
According to Section 83 of the POCA act, whenever the Inspector General of the police has reason to believe that any person may have information relevant to the commission or intended commission of an alleged offence in terms of this act, he or she may, before the institution of any civil or criminal proceeding, under written authority, direct a particular member of the police to investigate a specific offence.
This procedure was, however, not followed by ACC investigators according to Soni as the bulk of the investigations which include POCA offences such as money laundering and racketeering were investigated by the ACC.
“The restraint application confirms that the ACC investigated all offences listed in the indictment. Is it your position now that all the offences set out in the indictment, in particular offences relating to racketeering and money laundering were investigated by the ACC?” Soni questioned.
To this, Kanyangela stated that the ACC investigated all charges drawn up in the indictment, adding that the police assisted in conducting searches and arresting accused persons.
He further added that Nelius Becker was responsible for the arrests and was given permission by the Inspector General.
Kanyangela further explained that this is a case of a complex nature, where investigations can be easily separated.
“It is money involved that we investigated, and the conduct of the accused, and the benefits they received, and how benefits were utilised,” Kanyangela said.
Further to this, Soni questioned Kanyangela if he is aware of any other cases the ACC has investigated that relate to money laundering and racketeering.
To this, Kanyangela stated that he is not aware of any other POCA cases investigated by the ACC and added that this is the first time as an ACC officer investigating POCA charges.
