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Three months after the launch of an inquiry into Tony Yengeni’s illegal directorships – initiated after I laid a charge at Cape Town Central police station - the South African Police have finally upgraded the inquiry into a full investigation and assigned the case number: CAS1123/1/2011.

I have been informed by the Police that it took three months to receive evidence of Mr Yengeni’s illegal directorships from Cipro, but we are relieved that a full investigation is now underway. We also understand that the Police will now be asking for statements from Cipro and the Department of Justice to work out why Mr Yengeni’s name does not appear on the Disqualified Director’s List as required by Section 218 of the Companies Act.

Cipro has previously stated, in a reply to a Parliamentary question, that they did not receive a record of “a copy of the relevant order or particulars of the conviction” from the Department of Justice. We trust that the Police investigation will get to the bottom of why the Justice Department failed to fulfill their legal obligations under the Companies Act.

In addition, we will continue to work through Parliamentary channels to summon the Minister of Justice to account for his department’s apparent breach of the law. We will also work to amend the draft new Companies legislation which, in its current form, would allow a convicted fraudster to establish a directorship five years after his sentence is completed, significantly watering down the protections in the current Act.