On 4 March 2024, the Pretoria High Court awarded the Underwriters at Lloyd’s of London R93 919 298.47 against the Minister of Safety and Security. The court held that police employees’ participation in the planning, execution and cover-up of a major robbery was sufficiently connected to their employment to trigger vicarious liability.
The claim arose from the April 2014 robbery at SBV’s Emalahleni cash centre. Criminal proceedings established that two SAPS employees were involved while on duty before, during and after the robbery. The stolen funds belonged to several banks. Nedbank, as host bank, bore most of the loss and indemnified other banks, then sought recovery from SBV. SBV was indemnified by Lloyd’s and ceded its rights against the Minister, along with any rights of the banks as owners of the stolen cash.
The Minister argued that Nedbank had no residual claim to cede after indemnification and that Lloyd’s therefore lacked standing. The court rejected this, confirming that Nedbank’s delictual claim against the Minister remained valid despite its contractual indemnity from SBV.
The Minister further contended that the SAPS employees were not acting in the course and scope of employment and that vicarious liability was not established. The court found a sufficiently close connection between the officers’ employment and their intentional criminal conduct, including actions that frustrated investigation and recovery efforts, making the Minister vicariously liable.
Damages of R93 919 298.47 were awarded, with interest at the prescribed rate from April 2014 until payment, as the loss amount was known from demand. Costs were granted, including the costs of two counsel.
Commercial takeaways
- Public sector employers face enhanced exposure where employees abuse official status to facilitate crime. This increases focus on recruitment, supervision, and incident response across security-sensitive operations.
- Financial institutions and cash logistics providers should review risk allocation in indemnities, cessions and subrogation frameworks to ensure recovery paths remain intact after insurance responses.
- Businesses interacting with law-enforcement touchpoints in their value chains may consider reinforcing controls around access, vetting and post-incident cooperation, given courts’ willingness to find a close connection to employment in egregious cases.
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