SAPS Employee Under Investigation for Altering Records Linked to Stuart Scharnick
KwaZulu-Natal police have confirmed that an employee of the South African Police Service allegedly accessed and altered the national criminal record system to remove information connected to businessman Stuart Scharnick.
Acting Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection, Major General Anthony Gopal, made the revelation during a media briefing on Thursday. He said system logs showed that the employee made the unauthorised changes on 16 January 2025.
According to Gopal, the deleted information was recovered through the system’s audit trail, and a forensic investigation has been launched to gather evidence and hold the employee accountable. He explained that the individual appeared to be unaware that all system activity is permanently recorded on the back end, making it possible to trace the deleted transactions.
Gopal added that the SAPS forensic team is continuing its investigation to ensure that those responsible face disciplinary and possible criminal action.
Background to the Controversy
The revelation comes shortly after reports that Scharnick opened several cases, including one of defeating the ends of justice, against the head of Crime Intelligence, Lieutenant General Dumisani Khumalo, at the Pretoria Central police station earlier this week.
Scharnick has denied ever being convicted of hijacking, describing claims to that effect as false. He said official records from the Local Criminal Record Centre confirm his position and criticised Khumalo for allegedly failing to verify the information.
The ongoing investigation is expected to determine the extent of the data tampering and whether Scharnick had any involvement in the incident.