Senior SAA Executive Accused of Misappropriation Amidst Airlink Data Breach Allegations

The board chair of South African Airways (SAA), Derek Hanekom, has recently addressed ongoing allegations against senior executive Carla da Silva, asserting that neither she nor any other respondent had yet been asked to resign. The SAA board is considering its next steps as allegations of the misappropriation of confidential information from competing carrier Airlink swirl around da Silva.

Controversy erupted when Airlink, a regional airline in South Africa, accused Da Silva and her team—formerly part of Airlink and now with SAA—of stealing and disseminating sensitive commercial data. This purported breach, first communicated to SAA’s chief executive John Lamola by Airlink chief Rodger Foster in January, was not acted upon by the airline’s management for eight months, according to Waye Duvenage of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).

Only in March did Airlink initiate civil action and engage the South African Police Service, further escalating the complaint to the Hawks, signaling the severity of the claim.

With Ba Silva still employed and the inaction from SAA’s executive management, experts like Chad Thomas from IRS Forensic Investigations are pointing to serious lapses in corporate governance and ethics at the state-owned airline. This behavior, says Thomas, is fertile ground for fraud and corruption.

In the background, some SAA staff have taken action, making protected disclosures about the ongoing issues. Specialists like Dionne Collett from Take Note Reputation Management emphasize the delicate position this places SAA in, especially considering its search for new investment partners and its need to maintain a sound reputation.

SAA, which had previously been under business rescue and is now attempting a comeback, faces increased scrutiny due to these developments. The relevance of a recent Western Cape High Court decision regarding the theft of incorporeal property, which saw Justice Mark Sher award significant damages to Technical Systems against a former employee for similar data misappropriation, casts a shadow on da Silva’s situation.

As SAA navigates its fragile corporate standing, the lack of definitive action against the high-profile executive may offer a lesson in the importance of robust governance and the protection of intellectual property, as shown by the precedents set in other South African court cases.