Teboho Setena
The long arm of the law has seemingly caught up with a Bloemfontein attorney, Elmarie Prinsloo (47), culminating in her appearance in the Bloemfontein Regional Court. She is facing serious criminal charges of fraud, theft, money laundering, as well as contravention of the Attorneys Act.
Prinsloo is expected to reappear in the same court on Thursday, 17 July, following her first appearance on 26 June. Her appearance followed an investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit in Bloemfontein. She was served with summons on 11 June, following the elite crime fighting state agency’s completion of its investigation regarding fraud and money laundering allegations.
Prinsloo is accused of swindling a client of about R3,4 million and contravening the Attorneys Act. The swindled cash is reportedly part of a victim’s estate.
WO Fikiswa Matoti, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said the charges pertained to fraud and money laundering allegedly committed from January 2015 to July 2017.
“The suspect was entrusted with the complainant’s estate, which she received in the form of about R6 million in cash. This amount was supposed to be held in a trust account on behalf of the complainant, but it was kept in the suspect’s personal account. This resulted in the complainant losing about R3,4 million,” said Matoti.
The charge of contravention of the Legal Practice Act relates to practicing without a Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC), which is binding for all attorneys in the profession. The Hawks uncovered this during the investigation. The Legal Practice Council (LPC) issues an FFC to practitioners annually – this is a mandatory licence for legal practitioners in South Africa who handle client funds. The document is a guarantee that the practitioner is authorised to manage trust accounts and protects the public from potential losses due to theft or misappropriation of these funds. It also ensures practitioners can handle client funds and property responsibly.
Prinsloo joins the growing list of Free State attorneys accused of unethical practices, eroding the public’s trust in the legal profession. Just this year from January to May, according to the LPC website, three practitioners were disbarred: Kabelo Matee, Nozipho Cokisa Dlali and Sharon de Lange. Those suspended are: Matshediso Caroline Tladi, Hermanus Johannes Kleynhans, Johan Gerardus van Es, Lourens van Wyk and Daniël Johannes de Wet.
- About 15 practitioners in the Free State have been disbarred, while the number of suspended candidates with pending cases is about 35. The LPC is investigating candidates under suspension. This number of suspended and disbarred practitioners refers to September 2022 to May this year.
