Nicole Johnson, the wife of alleged organised crime boss Ralph Stanfield, who are accused of racketeering and helping run a violent criminal enterprise, bought an unbonded R5bn flat on the Atlantic Seaboard from a renowned Cape Town property developer.

News24 reports that the transaction raises questions about the extent to which property deals remain vulnerable to money laundering, especially in a time of increased focus on estate agents and lawyers meeting anti-money laundering obligations.

Investigations by amaBhungane have highlighted a legal loophole whereby developers who make direct sales without using estate agents as intermediaries seemingly do not have to be registered with the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) as accountable institutions.

As a result, the developers have no obligation to perform any due diligence on clients, although they do still need to report transactions they have reason to believe are suspicious.

Neither the conveyancers, Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes (STBB), nor the property developer, Blok, who was directly involved in last year’s sale, appear to have been put off by the couple’s notoriety or the fact that Johnson purchased the flat while in prison awaiting trial.

Johnson and Stanfield, who have been charged under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, have been held in Cape Town’s Pollsmoor and Brandvlei prisons respectively since their highly publicised arrest in September 2023.

They face over a hundred criminal charges, including racketeering, money laundering, corruption, fraud, theft, extortion, murder, attempted murder and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

Full News24 report