The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has established a state forensic capability (SFC) unit which will help deal with an increase in complex money laundering matters in the aftermath of greylisting.
The new shared forensic service initiative within the FIC will see specialised resources in forensic accounting, financial analysis and related services working together to support the work of law enforcement and other competent authorities in their pursuit of high-priority criminal matters.
“As a result of SA being greylisted, and as part of the Financial Action Task Force action plan, the police are expected to send more requests to the FIC for financial intelligence. The SFC unit will assist in dealing with an increase in complex money laundering matters that the police refer to the FIC, and do more than only conduct analysis,” it said.
The FIC said the SFC unit will be able to produce forensic reports that law enforcement agencies can use in complex money laundering cases.
“This unit will also be available to go to court and testify on the financial flows and the forensic products that they share with law enforcement agencies, such as the police and prosecutors, as listed in section 40 of the FIC Act. The FIC sees this as a game changer in enhancing the use of intelligence that it shares with law enforcement agencies.”
It said the SFC shared service will provide forensic service support to mandated entities in terms of section 40 of the FIC Act, 2003, as amended by the General Laws Amendment Act, 2022 (Act 22 of 2022), which extended the objectives of the FIC to produce forensic evidence.
The centre said the SFC initiative, which was established in the FIC with effect from April 1, is the result of a project conducted by a multifaceted task team of officials drawn from agencies in the Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT) which commenced in October 2020.
it said while the SFC task team was headed by Christopher Malan, executive manager for compliance and prevention at the FIC, the decision on where to house the forensic capability was decided by the ACTT principals.
“The need for a state forensic capability was identified by the ACTT to assist law enforcement and other competent authorities in their pursuit of high end, complex and impactful fraud, corruption and other financial criminal matters,” it said.
The FIC said work to establish the SFC unit will begin immediately, with a small core team focusing on increasing capacity.
“It is expected that the set-up phase for the SFC will take six months, with the capability being launched as fully operational by month seven. Initial funding for setting up the SFC unit was derived from funding received after the February 2023 budget, in which the minister of finance allocated the FIC an additional R265.3m to tackle organised and financial crime, including corruption, over the medium term,” said FIC.
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Financial Intelligence Centre establishes forensic unit to support law enforcement
Image: FIC (Supplied)
The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has established a state forensic capability (SFC) unit which will help deal with an increase in complex money laundering matters in the aftermath of greylisting.
The new shared forensic service initiative within the FIC will see specialised resources in forensic accounting, financial analysis and related services working together to support the work of law enforcement and other competent authorities in their pursuit of high-priority criminal matters.
“As a result of SA being greylisted, and as part of the Financial Action Task Force action plan, the police are expected to send more requests to the FIC for financial intelligence. The SFC unit will assist in dealing with an increase in complex money laundering matters that the police refer to the FIC, and do more than only conduct analysis,” it said.
The FIC said the SFC unit will be able to produce forensic reports that law enforcement agencies can use in complex money laundering cases.
“This unit will also be available to go to court and testify on the financial flows and the forensic products that they share with law enforcement agencies, such as the police and prosecutors, as listed in section 40 of the FIC Act. The FIC sees this as a game changer in enhancing the use of intelligence that it shares with law enforcement agencies.”
It said the SFC shared service will provide forensic service support to mandated entities in terms of section 40 of the FIC Act, 2003, as amended by the General Laws Amendment Act, 2022 (Act 22 of 2022), which extended the objectives of the FIC to produce forensic evidence.
The centre said the SFC initiative, which was established in the FIC with effect from April 1, is the result of a project conducted by a multifaceted task team of officials drawn from agencies in the Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT) which commenced in October 2020.
it said while the SFC task team was headed by Christopher Malan, executive manager for compliance and prevention at the FIC, the decision on where to house the forensic capability was decided by the ACTT principals.
“The need for a state forensic capability was identified by the ACTT to assist law enforcement and other competent authorities in their pursuit of high end, complex and impactful fraud, corruption and other financial criminal matters,” it said.
The FIC said work to establish the SFC unit will begin immediately, with a small core team focusing on increasing capacity.
“It is expected that the set-up phase for the SFC will take six months, with the capability being launched as fully operational by month seven. Initial funding for setting up the SFC unit was derived from funding received after the February 2023 budget, in which the minister of finance allocated the FIC an additional R265.3m to tackle organised and financial crime, including corruption, over the medium term,” said FIC.
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