Price-fixing allegations can be difficult to prove in court: economist
An economist says allegations of price fixing against banks can negatively affect the economy.
17 banks, including three South African banks - Standard Bank, ABSA and Investec - are accused of price-fixing by the Competition Commission.
The Commission - which has been investigating a case of price-fixing and market allocation involving the rand - has since referred a collusion case to the tribunal for prosecution.
Dawie Roodt says the performance of the rand could have been affected.
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"It could be possible for traders in the financial market to collude and to fix a price - whether it's the price of money like in this case. So it's possible that the banks could have colluded on the value. It could have had a potentially huge impact on the rand and the South African economy. It could have resulted in the rand going weaker to the US dollar," he said.
Roodt says in these cases it can be difficult to prove if any collusion has taken place.
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"If there was any wrongdoing - it should be in a court of law where everybody can see what's going on and somebody can be found guilty. Sometimes what happens - there's a scapegoat with individuals being found guilty and not being jailed for the crime which happens internationally," he said.