On the Money
STUART THEOBALD: Legal gap an issue as banks balance rights and fight crime
Though SCA ruled that banks could sever ties with problematic clients, it did not consider individual constitutional rights
The report in this newspaper on June 24 about banks shutting down accounts (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/financial-services/2025-06-24-how-capitec-stopped-alleged-gold-mafia-from-moving-foreign-currency/) linked to alleged gold smuggling operations illuminates a paradox at the heart of modern finance: the institutions we depend on for basic economic participation have become our most powerful weapons against organised crime.
This is no accident. In an interconnected global economy virtually every criminal enterprise, from gold smuggling to state capture, eventually requires access to the formal banking system. Whether it’s laundering proceeds, moving money offshore or converting illicit gains into usable assets, crime and banking have become inextricably linked...
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