FIC reports R144 million recovery from financial crime in 2024/25

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), the state institution that aims to combat financial crime by mostly monitoring millions of reports from 55 262 institutions in South Africa, says it recovered R144 million in proceeds from crime in 2024/25.

The FIC’s latest annual report shows this amount is 46% more than the preceding year. The FIC also claims to have blocked R157.5m as suspected proceeds of crime. The report comes in an environment where suspected financial crime totaling billions of rand is reported almost daily in South Africa’s media, and most of these funds will likely have passed through the financial system.

The FIC said ithe 55 262 institutions registered on its database submitted more than 13.5 million regulatory reports in the year. Financial institutions are obliged by regulation to submit reports to the FIC of transactions they deem suspicious, as well as, for instance, transactions of more than R50m. Where necessary, financial intelligence reports are submitted to law enforcement and other authorities by the FIC for use in their investigations and prosecutions; the FIC does not conduct investigations.

The report admits capacity constraints: “The FIC continued to deliver on its mandate during the period under review despite challenges with the recruitment of specialist skills and the retention of critical staff due to the competitiveness of the skills market." The FIC recruited 55 new employees in the year, bringing its workforce to 275.

“The FIC contributed to the recovery of close to R144m in criminal proceeds in 2024/25 flowing from the 3 104 reactive reports and 1 092 proactive reports it produced, as well as 51 reports on illicit financial flows produced during this period,” the report said.

Based on information obtained through risk assessment tools, the FIC conducted 556 inspections in 2024/25, the majority of which were inspections of medium- and high-risk institutions.

Non-conviction-based confiscation through the FIC-led Asset Recovery Hub, which aims to convert financial intelligence reports into actionable legal evidence to facilitate asset forfeiture applications, working with the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit, saw 11 investigations initiated, which resulted in the recovery of more than R33m in proceeds of crime.

Some 2.9 million regulatory reports were received from the banks in the year, of which 423 095 related to “suspicious and unusual transaction” reports. The FIC also received 5.59 million reports of international fund transfers.

The FIC said its operational partnerships with the Reformed Fusion Centre, the Asset Recovery Hub, and the South African Anti-Money Laundering Integrated Task Force, had enabled it to more effectively deliver on its mandate. For example, the Reformed Fusion Centre, under the FIC's stewardship, investigated 562 cases, including three project investigations dealing with serious and complex money laundering.

The Reformed Fusion Centre was instrumental in the recovery of proceeds of crime to the value of about R93m in one of the project investigations.

The Asset Recovery Hub, working with other law enforcement partners, initiated 11 investigations which resulted in the recovery of more than R33m in proceeds of crime.

Sanctions imposed by the FIC were valued at R2.23M. The South African Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority and its Financial Surveillance department imposed sanctions of R143.65m and R1.22 billion respectively. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority imposed sanctions amounting to R4.5m and a further R2.9m stemming from an appeal lodged in the previous financial year, which was dismissed in this financial year.

Where necessary, the FIC's financial intelligence reports are submitted to law enforcement, the South African Revenue Services and other authorities. During the year, there was a 17% increase in the demand for financial intelligence products from competent authorities.

Reports that are compiled upon request are called reactive reports. During 2024/25, the FIC produced 3 104 reactive reports, compared with 2 654 in the previous year. Of these, 60 were responses to requests for financial intelligence from foreign financial intelligence units.

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