Back in 2007 the Fidentia scandal rocked South African financial markets. At the heart of the scandal was the looting of a trust that was created to provide financial support to 50000 widows and orphans. The mastermind of the looting, J Arthur Brown, a crook who clearly didn't like his first name, was found guilty of fraud. His sentence? An initial fine of just R150000 - which he could easily afford to pay after stealing more than half a billion. For a man who had been found guilty of depriving widows and orphans of their only source of income, the sentence was regarded by many as unjustly lenient. On review, the Supreme Court of Appeal replaced the original sentence with 15 years' imprisonment. Since the Fidentia scandal, various corporate scandals have rocked South Africa, ranging from currency rigging to collusion by construction companies, bread cartels, state capture, BEE fronting, African Bank, VBS and, more recently, Steinhoff. And yet, surprisingly, Brown remains the only pe...
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