Damning open letter to conveyancers about bribery: [an extract from an Article in: Property Professional – November 2024]
In a second open letter, following one posted on 22 October that was addressed to fellow conveyancers, The Legal Practice Council, The Law Society of South Africa, the PPRA, banks, and De Rebus magazine, Jan Jordaan, director of Jan L Jordaan Attorneys, has red-flagged bribery in the conveyancing sector.
OPEN LETTER TO CONVEYANCERS – 29 October 2024
Good afternoon, fellow colleagues,
Bribery has, regrettably, become the norm in the conveyancing sector. This letter follows the Open Letter I recently sent to all banks, the Legal Practice Council, the De Rebus and the PPRA, urging them to address this growing problem.
I am reaching out to bring an issue to light that should be of deep concern to every member of our profession: bribery and corruption have become all too common in conveyancing.
Any attorney who engages in these practices effectively forfeits the right to criticize the corruption we see in our country’s leadership.
Bribery is corruption, plain and simple, and it has become too widespread in our beloved country.
This practice must be stopped.
Some unethical practices we are now seeing in conveyancing include, but are not limited to:
- Conveyancers paying agents up to R7,500 per instruction;
- Conveyancers offering a kickback of 20% of their fees to agents;
- Conveyancers paying significant sums of money (up to R500,000) to principals in exchange for guaranteed referrals over a period of years;
- Conveyancers covering the cost of professional property photography on the condition that agents direct the deal to them;
- Conveyancers purchasing shares in estate agencies and then pressuring agents to direct work to them;
- Conveyancers paying Town Council officials to expedite the issuance of clearance figures and certificates.
The Original, Full Article can be Viewed here: → https://propertyprofessional.co.za/2024/11/18/damning-open-letter-to-conveyancers-about-bribery/