A total of 147 high-priority cases were currently being processed, and 910 “exhibits” had been produced. Some 782 various law enforcement officers had been trained on the analysis of bank statements. Picture: Supplied
The Digital Forensic and Financial Analysis Centre (DFFAC), although still in its infancy at only one year-old, has already analysed millions of bank statements for serious financial crimes and cases of corruption, Lieutenant General (Dr/Adv) Godfrey Lebeya, who is head of the Hawks, said yesterday.
The digital landscape within which the Hawks (the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations) operates is evolving at the speed of light, he said at a briefing to reflect on the successes of the DFFAC and the introduction of the Section 205 Digital Subpoena Project.
Lebeya said that these projects, although still in their infancy, were already playing a key role in commercial and financial crime and corruption investigations.
He said that the collection and analysis of electronic data for investigations comes across as a “costly exercise” and thus requires partnership between the government and business.
For instance, he mentioned that 114 bank statements had been analysed, which involved the scrutiny of millions of transactions. A total of 147 high-priority cases were currently being processed, and 910 “exhibits” had been produced. Some 782 various law enforcement officers had been trained on the analysis of bank statements.
The 68 staff working at the DFFAC included Hawks staff, accountants, financial analysts, and digital forensic and other experts, he said.
“This is just the beginning,” he added, expecting that the DFFAC would take financial investigative technology capabilities “to great heights.”
So far, 10 Section 205 Digital Subpoenas had been served. The Hawks were connected to 11 banks in a way that allowed bank customers to be subpoenaed electronically.
The Section 205 Digital Subpoena project refers to the use of Section 205 of the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977. This section allows law enforcement agencies to obtain metadata from telecommunications service providers.
The Intelwatch website notes that the Section 205 Digital Subpoena project has raised concerns about the potential abuse of this provision to access metadata without the protections envisaged by the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act.
The DFFAC is a partnership between the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA), the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations, also known as the Hawks, and the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric).
Nischal Mewalall, CEO of Sabric, said this partnership between the government and the state would not compromise the independence of either of the partners. He noted that the technology being used by the DFFAC allowed bank statements to be converted into electronic formats that facilitated data analysis by the DFFAC.
He added that the technology allowed the time for investigations to be significantly reduced, and it would, in time, likely be rolled out to the nine provinces and nationally to the SA Police Service.
He said that it also represented a “pivotal stride” by South Africa to address remaining concerns about why South Africa is on the international Financial Action Task Force’s Grey List, which is a list of countries with deficiencies in their ability to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
Sabric chief executive Gavin Wright said the DFFAC was established in 2023 by President Ramaphosa to address priority areas that would benefit from specialised skills and resources provided by the business sector.
In this respect, the Joint Initiative on Crime and Corruption (JICC), a partnership between the government and business led by the Presidency, has played a crucial role in bolstering the capabilities of the DFFAC.
Wright emphasised that the role of business in these structures is arm's-length and that businesses do not interfere in any way with the justice system.
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