DEFINING ORGANISED CRIME: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS by SESWANTSHO GODFREY LEBEYA submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LAWS at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF S LÖTTER SEPTEMBER 2012 i Student number: 6444393 DECLARATION I declare that DEFINING ORGANISED CRIME: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ................................................... 10 September 2012 SIGNATURE DATE (MR S G LEBEYA) ii SUMMARY The most challenging and spoken criminal phenomenon today is indisputably organised crime. It is a crime that both the general public, business community, commentators, researchers, scholars, journalists, writers, politicians, prosecutors, jurists and presiding officials debate with different interpretation and understanding of the concept as well as the manifestation of the phenomena. Debates on the subject have seen the dawn of rival terminologies of organised crime and crimes that are organised. While the United Nations has not assisted the nations in finding a definition of what organised crime is, the confusion has spread throughout the globe and South Africa has not been spared the pandemonium. The objective of this study is to comparatively assess the present understanding and setup in South Africa in comparison with Italy, Tanzania and the United States of America, identify the root causes of the confusion and find possible remedies to liberate the situation. The research concludes with the findings and recommendations. KEY TERMS Organised crime; transnational organised crime; organised criminal group; syndicate; racketeering; money laundering; criminal gang; organised crime offences; predicate offences; syndicated crime. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The work of this magnitude could not have been accomplished without the contribution and help of Professor S Lötter who has guided me throughout this research. I wish to thank and express my deepest appreciation for her support and encouragement demonstrated during the writing of this thesis. A special message of appreciation goes to Rhifumune Josephine, Tumelo Advocate- Emmanuel, Pulane Queen-Elizabeth, Nakampe Simon-Peter and General-Mohale who as a family gave me moral support and every reason to invest in education. The endless cups of tea and the sacrifices of the many weekends and nights that they should have spent elsewhere to allow me to pursue my obsessive need to conduct this research, kept me on track. Finally, my mother Mabotse Makosha “Maimana” Lebeya and my late father Nakampe Elias Lebea for teaching me discipline and respect. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration.............................................................................................................ii Summary...............................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements.................................................................................................iv CHAPTER ONE: THE CONCEPT OF ORGANISED CRIME.....................................1 1.1. Introduction.........................................................................................1 1.2. Defining organised crime....................................................................14 1.2.1. Definitions focussing on criminal activities...............................14 1.2.2. Definitions focussing on organised criminal group aspect.........17 1.2.3. Discussion of the South African Police Service Act 68 of 1995...18 1.2.4. Discussion of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998.........................................................................................19 1.3. Conclusion.........................................................................................23 CHAPTER TWO: THE THEORETICAL FOUNDATION OF ORGANISED CRIME AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPT......................................24 2.1. Introduction.......................................................................................24 2.2. The origin of organised crime concept.................................................25 2.3. The theories of defining and researching organised crime...................31 2.3.1. Introduction.............................................................................31 2.3.2. Selected theories of defining and researching organised crime..34 2.4. Conclusion.........................................................................................44 CHAPTER THREE: DEFINITION OF ORGANISED CRIME...................................46 3.1. Introduction ......................................................................................46 3.2. A definition of organised crime ..........................................................49 v 3.2.1. Position of the United Nations on the definition of organised crime .......................................................................................51 3.2.2. Position of the African Union on the definition of organised crime........................................................................................61 3.2.3. Position of the SADC on the definition of organised crime.........63 3.2.4. Position of South Africa on the definition of organised crime.....67 3.3. Conclusion.........................................................................................77 CHAPTER FOUR: OFFENCES CREATED BY THE PREVENTION OF ORGANISED CRIME ACT (POCA) 121 OF 1998.......................................................................80 4.1. Introduction.......................................................................................80 4.2. Offences relating to racketeering activities (Chapter 2)........................82 4.2.1. Receive, use, invest or retain the proceeds of racketeering activity.....................................................................................82 4.2.2. Receive or retain the proceeds of racketeering activity...............84 4.2.3. Use or invest the proceeds of racketeering activity.....................85 4.2.4. Acquisition, maintenance or control of any interest through racketeering activity..................................................................86 4.2.5. Conduct racketeering as a manager, employee or an associate..................................................................................86 4.2.6. Management of the operations of an enterprise.........................88 4.2.7. Conspiracy or attempts to violate the provisions of section 2(1)(a-e)....................................................................................89 4.3. Offences relating to the proceeds of unlawful activities (Chapter 3).....92 4.3.1. Money laundering (section 4)....................................................92 4.3.2. Assisting another to benefit from proceeds of unlawful activities (section 5)...............................................................................100 4.3.3. Acquisition, possession or use of proceeds of unlawful activities vi (section 6) ..............................................................................101 4.4. Offences relating to criminal gang activities (Chapter 4)....................102 4.4.1. Aids and abets criminal gang activity......................................106 4.4.2. Violence or threats for and by a criminal gang........................107 4.4.3. Threats of retaliation in response to violence...........................108 4.4.4. Cause, contribute or promote a pattern of criminal gang activy......................................................................................109 4.4.5. Incites, instigates, commands, aids and encourages gang activity....................................................................................110 4.4.6. Causes, recruits or instigates the joining of a criminal gang....111 4.5. Application of the POCA in case law.................................................112 4.6. Conclusion.......................................................................................119 CHAPTER FIVE: THE ELEMENTS OF ORGANISED CRIME..............................120 5.1. Introduction.....................................................................................120 5.2. The elements of organised crime.......................................................127 5.2.1. Organised criminal group.......................................................129 5.2.2. Serious crime..........................................................................148 5.2.3. A pattern of racketeering activity.............................................153 5.2.4. An act.....................................................................................160 5.2.5. Culpability..............................................................................162 5.2.6. Unlawfulness..........................................................................166 5.2.7. Financial or other material benefit..........................................167 5.2.8. Penal provision.......................................................................172 5.3. Conclusion.......................................................................................173 CHAPTER SIX: ORGANISED CRIME IN ITALY..................................................175 6.1. Introduction....................................................................................175 6.2. Definition of organised crime in Italy................................................178 vii 6.3. Organised