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BusinessTech writes that being a business rescue or insolvency practitioner in SA have become one of SA’s most dangerous professions according to Gareth Cremen of Cox Yeats Attorneys.
What was once viewed as a highly technical and administrative role has now become a career fraught with threats, intimidation, and even violence. Cremen said that while the work of these professionals was to help resuscitate struggling companies, they often faced immense personal risk in the process. “People see us as professionals who step into failing entities, but what is not widely appreciated is the level of risk involved — not economic risk, but personal risk. In South Africa, we’ve seen an increasing amount of threats, intimidation, and even assassinations targeting business rescue practitioners and insolvency lawyers,” Cremen noted.
Over the past few years, several high-profile cases have made headlines, including the killings of lawyers and practitioners involved in sensitive corporate collapses. Between 2022 and 2023, at least 13 assassinations targeting lawyers and insolvency professionals were reported. “We even saw the case of Bouwer van Niekerk, a well-known lawyer, who was shot in his own boardroom by men posing as clients. This shows just how dangerous the work has become,” he lamented. The risk stems from the nature of the information that business rescue practitioners and liquidators handle. Due to this exposure, many practitioners are being compelled to take extreme security precautions.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Malcolm Libera at BusinessTech
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