Francois Trichardt is a partner in the firm’s Corporate Investigations practice and leads the Cape Town team. He is an admitted attorney with more than 15 years’ experience in complex investigations and litigation involving unlawful deposit-taking, exchange control contraventions, large-scale fraud and asset misappropriation and regulatory compliance. He regularly acts for and against organs of state and advises on investigations, recovery litigation, search and seizure processes, and administrative and constitutional reviews. He is one of the relationship partners for the South African Reserve Bank and the Prudential Authority , and also acts for private sector clients across financial services, mining, steel, retail and FMCG.

Francois manages some of the firm’s largest multi-disciplinary mandates, including the Prudential Authority’s Ithala repayment administration, exchange control investigations linked to the Steinhoff/Ibex matters, and the TVI Express pyramid scheme recovery, while building the practice’s presence in the Western Cape. He has litigated in the Supreme Court of Appeal and most divisions of the High Court, and has brought and defended urgent interdicts, attachment and forfeiture proceedings, search warrants, and multiple administrative -law reviews.

Investigations and forensic inquiries; exchange control and regulatory banking law; unlawful deposit-taking; asset tracing and recovery; administrative and constitutional law litigation (including PAJA reviews); search and seizure; whistleblower and workplace investigations; due diligence and corporate intelligence; governance and compliance advisory.