His business rescue colleague Kurt Knoop resigned from a case involving a suspected Ponzi scheme on Friday, citing death threats. From Moneyweb.
In what appears to be a targeted assassination, well-known insolvency attorney Bouwer van Niekerk was gunned down on Friday morning in the boardroom at his SmitSew law office in Saxonwold, Johannesburg.
Moneyweb understands Van Niekerk received multiple death threats warning him to step away from a case he was working on involving a suspected Ponzi scheme. According to News24, the killers arranged a meeting at his office to discuss a legal matter. According to a source familiar with the matter, Van Niekerk entered the boardroom and was promptly shot twice in the head. Police are on the hunt for four suspects.
More details emerged later on Friday when business rescue practitioner (BRP) Kurt Knoop, who worked with Van Niekerk on several cases – including the rescue of Optimum Coal and several Gupta-linked companies – advised that he had received threats to his life and was resigning as BRP of NTC Global Trade.
Read:
One Gupta company’s attempt to liquidate another stumbles in high court (Sep 2020)
Optimum Coal to exit business rescue after six agonising years (Feb 2024)
NTC warnings
Knoop said the following on Friday: “Following this morning’s (Friday, 5 September 2025) shooting of my attorney, and in the interests of all parties concerned, I have elected to immediately give effect to my initial intention to resign as the BRP of NTC. This letter serves as my immediate and formal resignation as the BRP of NTC, which will be filed forthwith with the CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission).”
In May 2024, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority issued a warning urging caution when dealing with NTC and Arbitrawallet, over suspicions they were offering unregistered financial services. In March 2025, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) failed to secure a preservation order against NTC Capital, NTC Global Trade Fund, and 27 other respondents, as the prosecutor had been unable to prove numerous claims, including allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme.
NTC ended up in business rescue, with the BRPs approaching the Johannesburg High Court in August 2025 to secure an order compelling NTC’s sole director Edwin Letopa to cooperate with them and provide information on the company’s business affairs. Letopa told the Sunday Times that there was no bad blood between the company and the BRP, and that he too feared for his life.
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Investigators targeted
The killing of Van Niekerk has sparked fear and outrage within the insolvency and business rescue professions, coming in the wake of several other high-profile murders of BRPs and accountants, including:
- Babita Deokaran, acting chief director of financial accounting at the Gauteng Department of Health, who was shot in 2021 after blowing the whistle on R850 million in suspicious tenders at Tembisa Hospital. Six suspects were arrested, but the masterminds remain at large.
- Cloete Murray and his son Thomas, who were killed while driving on the N1 highway near Midrand in March 2023. They had previously been involved in the liquidation of Bosasa, which was prominently featured in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture for corrupt prison supply tenders, and Trillian Capital. More recently, they had been investigating BIG Business Innovations Group and I2 Infinite Innovations, which reportedly owed Investec Bank about R200 million. No arrests have yet been made in the case.
- News24 reports that Ekurhuleni auditor Simnikiwe Mapini was murdered in December 2023 while investigating a suspicious R1.8 billion tender for mobile chemicals and waste. CFO Kagiso Lerutla escaped with bullet wounds after being shot in September of that year. No arrest has been made in connection with Mapini’s killing.
- Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality’s chief auditor Mpho Mafole was killed on 30 June 2025 in Kempton Park while investigating corruption involving R4 billion in dodgy contracts. One suspect has been arrested, and a second is still being sought in connection with his murder.
- Staff at the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) have reported multiple incidents of intimidation and violence over the years while investigating suspected fraud.
The South African Restructuring and Insolvency Practitioners Association (Saripa) has expressed outrage at the latest killing. In a statement, the organisation said: “Bouwer was a respected legal professional who worked on complex, high-profile, and often incriminating matters. His untimely death represents a devastating loss to the legal, insolvency, and restructuring community.
“We unequivocally condemn this violent act. It has only been two and a half years since the murders of Insolvency Practitioners Cloete Murray and his son, Thomas Murray. Such attacks strike at the very heart of our justice system and undermine the safety and confidence of all professionals who dedicate their careers to upholding fairness, accountability, and due process in South Africa.”
Read: Sars advocate in stable condition after attempted assassination (Jul 2024)
Saripa says it will be raising its concerns with law enforcement to ensure its members can carry out their work without fear or intimidation. It wants a swift and decisive investigation into the latest killing so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice.
“When lawyers and investigators are targeted, it is not just individuals who are silenced; it is likely justice itself that is being attacked,” wrote Ian Cameron, national assembly chair of the Portfolio Committee on Police.
“The Murray murders remain unresolved in many respects, and now another voice against corruption has been cut short. South Africa cannot accept a climate where organised crime dictates who lives and who dies while accountability stalls.”
‘Get off the case’
Insolvency practitioners have started requesting courts to authorise additional security as part of their extended powers, and this is likely to become the norm going forward.
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Says Saripa chair Jo Mitchell-Marais: “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Bouwer’s family, colleagues, and friends. We stand in solidarity with the broader legal community as we mourn this senseless loss.”
One BRP contacted by Moneyweb, who asked not to be named, said he had also received death threats concerning cases he was involved in, prompting him to resign. “That’s my advice to other practitioners: if you get threatened, resign. Your life is more important. Take every threat seriously and do what they ask. If they say get off the case, get off the case.
“Some people feel they are above the law. How far has this country sunk when there is such complete indifference to the law?”
Another insolvency practitioner says the banks – which are most frequently involved in insolvency matters – will have to build additional security into their costings.
