Lawyers

Lionel  van Tonder

Lionel van Tonder

Webber Wentzel, South Africa

Work Department

Forensic Services and Business Crimes

Position

Director

Career

Lionel has more than 37 years' experience in forensic and legal services. He specialises in all aspects of business crimes investigation, including financial crime and compliance, forensic data and analytics, digital forensics and eDiscovery, cyber forensics, and investigations. He also has extensive experience in investigating and prosecuting economic crime, money laundering, general fraud as well as a range of other fraud/corruption-related matters.

Lionel joined Webber Wentzel as a Partner in forensic services and business crimes after a 25-year career at PwC of which 22 years were as a Partner. Prior to 1998, he had a 10-year career in the Department of Justice as a Public Prosecutor, acting Magistrate, State Advocate and Senior State Advocate. Lionel has also served in the Office for Serious Economic Offences as a Senior State Advocate where he investigated economic crime.

Lionel has extensive litigation experience and prosecuted numerous economic crime matters in the various Courts. Lionel argued various matters in the Appellate Division of the High Court of South Africa. Lionel has testified at various forums in South Africa. His range of experience includes the investigation and prosecution of economic crime, money laundering, general fraud as well as a range of other fraud/corruption related matters. Lionel has extensive experience in managing large investigations comprising of various work streams across multiple jurisdictions. Lionel has extensive experience in investigation, fraud and corruption related matters in inter alia the Private and Public Sector space including State Owned Enterprises.  Lionel has for example been involved in the well published Arms procurement investigation, the investigation following the administration of the Department of Health in Limpopo and the investigation relating to the corporate scandal, Steinhoff.  Lionel has also conducted investigations in various Countries in Europe and Africa.