A quiet but significant shift is unfolding in South Africa’s criminal justice system; regional courts are increasingly being tasked with prosecuting serious financial crime, a function traditionally reserved for the country’s specialised commercial crime courts.
This development was brought into sharp focus, on Tuesday 10 June 2025, during bail proceedings in the Lenasia Regional Court, where Magistrate Maggie van der Merwe confirmed that matters involving “millions of rands” are now being referred to the regional courts. Only matters involving “billions” will continue to be dealt with by the specialised commercial crime courts.
Van der Merwe’s comments were made during the bail hearing of eleven accused, eight South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) officials and three civilians, implicated in an alleged fraud scheme involving the creation of false social grant accounts. The alleged fraud is said to have cost the state in the region of R265 million.
Questioning the jurisdictional placement of the case, Van der Merwe remarked; “This case should have started in the [Specialised] Commercial Crime Court.”
She explained that she had engaged with colleagues at those courts, who confirmed that their rolls have become saturated with commercial crime matters and that they are struggling to keep up.
“They are overwhelmed,” she said, adding that the decision to reroute high-value fraud matters to regional courts was based on sheer necessity. “It will be a learning curve,” she added, noting that her usual judicial focus has been on violent crime.
While the move may alleviate some pressure on the overstretched specialised courts, it raises broader questions about preparedness, capacity, and whether regional courts have the infrastructure and expertise required to handle the increasingly complex nature of modern financial crimes.
As white-collar crime continues to rise, the country’s court system faces the difficult task of adapting; without compromising the quality and efficiency of justice.
