How to freeze a bank account - fraudster's bank account successfully frozen via anti-dissipatory interdict
We were recently successful in another Anti-Dissipatory Interdict aimed at freezing a bank account. In this instance, an employee of a company had procured the payment of some R350,000 into his bank account instead of the company account. Luckily, the client noticed it in time and acted quickly.
How to freeze a bank account
When a debtor owes you money and you suspect they may be moving, hiding or disposing of their assets to avoid paying you, taking them court via a normal lawsuit will take too long. By the time you get judgment, the money may have disappeared. Another common scenario is where someone - like an employee - has committed fraud and moved money into their own bank account. While the SAPS may only investigate the criminal aspect of such fraud, a criminal conviction will not get you your money back. The most effective strategy is to act immediately to have the funds frozen.
Freezing someone's bank account to preserve funds (or other assets, like immovable property) requires an Anti-Dissipatory Interdict, otherwise known as a Mareva Injunction or Interdict in securitatem debiti, depending on which case law you're looking at. Essentially the process requires an extremely urgent application to the High Court, often on the same day or the very next day. It may be brought without notice to the Respondent (especially in the instance of funds in a bank account) on the grounds that the Respondent may transfer the funds or spend them if he receives notice of the application.
There are stringent requirements to obtaining an interdict of this nature, and you must act with extreme urgency. In our most recent case, our client consulted with us in the afternoon and we managed to secure the hearing and judgment the next day. Had the client come to us in the morning, we may have been able to secure a hearing that day. An application of this nature requires a large amount of work to be done at high speed, with accuracy. It is therefore critical not to wait if you suspect you may need to freeze someone's bank account.
In this case, being experienced in obtaining anti-dissipatory interdicts to freeze the funds in a bank account, we were able to present a case which met all the requirements and obtained an order freezing the account. Once done, the order is served on the bank and the bank is compelled to freeze the account - or a certain amount of money in it.
Then, the process of proving a claim against the Respondent and clawing the money back from the account - a process that must be kept separate from the interdict for the latter to succeed - begins.
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The above information is for illustrative purposes only and does not take into account your specific circumstances. It therefore does not constitute legal advice. Please contact us for comprehensive advice to address your circumstances. Under no circumstances should any person use the above information in an attempt to circumvent the provisions of legislation or contract, or to cause damage to any other person. Always ensure you and your company are in compliance with the law in all dealings. This information is accurate as of the date of publication. All persons, characters, businesses and events depicted herein are fictitious and are used for illustrative purposes only. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, real businesses, organisations, events or circumstances is purely coincidental and unintended.
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