Dr Albertus Schoeman, an anti-corruption and governance expert, told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Thursday that SAPS has conducted no lifestyle audit for the past five years, despite ongoing concerns about public service officials accumulating unjustified wealth.
This occurred during Schoeman’s testimony on disclosure regimes applicable to senior officers within the South African criminal justice system and proposed reforms to prevent the system’s corrupt infiltration.
His testimony followed the commission’s scrutiny of senior Crime Intelligence officer Major-General Feroz Khan, who is alleged to have lived far beyond his police salary and accumulated unexplained wealth.
According to financial disclosure records presented to the commission, Khan purchased 30 vehicles in one year. He also owns a car parts business earning an estimated R3 million annually, as well as a property portfolio valued at about R39 million, including luxury homes in George, Houghton and Umhlanga.
Schoeman highlighted that the current disclosure regime was weak, noting that gaps in the form, including the omission of beneficial ownership allows unexplained wealth to be concealed
He noted that the current disclosure form also omits several categories of assets, including high-value movable properties other than vehicles, such as artworks, jewellery, precious stones, livestock and comparable items.
Virtual and intangible assets, including cryptocurrencies and other digital tokens that can store significant value and be used to move wealth outside conventional channels, are similarly omitted from the disclosure form.
Schoeman added that the form likewise omits monetary assets held within or outside financial institutions, such as bank accounts, safe deposit boxes and liquid savings, even though these constitute a direct means of concealing illicit proceeds.
Finally, he said the form captures what declarants owe, but not what is owed to them, noting that money loaned to third parties can disguise the transfer of illicit funds as a legitimate loan.
Co-commissioner Advocate Sandile Khumalo illustrated the problem, saying a senior SAPS general could drive a R3 million car and, when it came time to disclose, claim it was not his and therefore did not need to be declared.
“And there is nothing SAPS can do because it really is not his car. It is his friend’s car or somebody else’s car although it parks in his garage every day and he uses it every day,” Khumalo said.
Schoeman said that, having heard the commission’s testimonies so far, there seems to be a disjuncture between the mechanism on paper and what is seen in the real world.
When asked how many lifestyle audits the SAPS conducted in the past five years, he said none had been conducted yet.
However, he explained that lifestyle assessments – including reviews and investigations – were conducted within SAPS over the past five years. He noted these were different from lifestyle audits.
“The SAPS approach to lifestyle audits is guided by the Department of Public Service and Administration Framework for conducting lifestyle audits, which provides for three levels of assessment, namely, lifestyle reviews, lifestyle investigations and lifestyle audits,” he said.
Schoeman said a lifestyle audit was the highest level of assessment, involving professional auditors joining investigations into an individual’s financial circumstances.
“Most departments lack this expertise, leading to outsourcing or entering complex arrangements with the Special Investigating Unit to second officials. Both arrangements are costly, between R30,000 and R50,000 per lifestyle audit. As of July 2026 SAPS is yet to start with lifestyle audits through the SIU secondment arrangement. In effect, neither the financial disclosure framework nor lifestyle reviews or investigations have unearthed misconduct in SAPS,” he said.
He said sanctions against officials found in the wrong range from verbal warnings, written warnings, suspension without pay or referral for disciplinary steps.
“Only a single dismissal has thus far been reported in the public service over the last two years,” he said.
He added that the impact of financial disclosures and their verification is closely linked to the sanctioning regime, which should be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive.
“The gaps in the financial disclosure form’s requirements and the vulnerabilities of a weak institutional framework help explain why no misconduct or unexplained wealth has been detected among SAPS officials over the last five years. However, even if any discrepancies, conflicts or unexplained wealth were to be detected, the policy framework for issuing sanctions against officials lacks teeth,” Schoeman said.
Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended the commission’s final report deadline to November 16, 2026, from August 31.
The Presidency said the extension sets a new evidence deadline of October 2, 2026, to enable the commission to close out topics raised during hearings.
The commission is currently hearing evidence in camera and public proceedings will resume on Friday at 09:30 to hear two applications for partially in-camera hearings brought by witnesses N and O.
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za
