For Sale: South Africa’s Property Laundromat
14 November 2024
Explore our latest investigative report, unveiling how luxury property in South Africa has become a tool for laundering vast sums of money tied to corruption across Africa. This multi-year investigation exposes how politically connected elites from other African nations use South African real estate to conceal the proceeds of grand corruption, facilitated by local professionals. Lawyers and real estate agents, as detailed in this report, play a key role in enabling these transactions, often at the expense of anti-money laundering laws.
Released in the wake of a damning statement from the Financial Intelligence Centre, this report reveals a concerning lack of compliance within the South African property sector. In July 2024, the FIC pointed to real estate agents and legal professionals as barriers to South Africa’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. If left unchecked, this problem could prolong South Africa’s greylisting and intensify financial and socio-political repercussions.
Through three in-depth case studies, the report illustrates the alarming ease with which elites are able to acquire property in South Africa with ill-gotten gains:
1. Mozambique – Following the “hidden debt” scandal, impoverishing millions in Mozambique, documents reveal Pam Golding and REMAX, in facilitating the sale of homes to beneficiaries of the scandal, including Filipe Nyusi and Armando Gubuza’s families.
2. DRC – The case of Francis Selemani, brother of former President Kabila, shows how he acquired properties worth over R30 million in South Africa with misappropriated Congolese state funds. Despite evidence, South African law enforcement has yet to act.
3. Equatorial Guinea – Teodorin and Gabriel Obiang, sons of President Teodoro Obiang, control luxurious properties in Cape Town while most Equatorial Guineans live in poverty.
Each of these cases sheds light on the systemic issues and stark consequences of unchecked corruption, raising questions about South Africa’s role in perpetuating socioeconomic harm across the continent. Read the full report to understand the stakes and solutions needed to address this urgent issue.
