The value of suspected proceeds of crime temporarily blocked by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) fell to R34.18 million in 2025/26, while recoveries linked to its financial intelligence declined to close to R37.5m.
The amount blocked under section 34 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) was significantly lower than the R157.53m recorded in 2024/25 and the five-year high of R295.88m in 2023/24, according to the FIC’s 2025/26 annual report, released on 30 September 2026.
The amount recovered in cases where FIC intelligence was used was down from R143.96m in 2024/25 and R98.50m in 2023/24. The FIC said it has no control over recoveries, which depend on the facts associated with each criminal matter.
Demand for the FIC’s financial intelligence nevertheless remained high. Its work supported investigations and court proceedings and assisted the Madlanga Commission in analysing financial flows, identifying illicit wealth, and uncovering money-laundering networks linked to corrupt officials and syndicate members.
The annual report records temporary blocks, recoveries, forfeiture orders, and assets referred for legal action as separate measures arising at different stages of the response to financial crime.
A section 34 directive temporarily prevents an institution from proceeding with a transaction for 10 working days while the FIC makes enquiries and, where necessary, informs an investigating authority or the National Director of Public Prosecutions.
Before issuing a directive, the FIC evaluates the information and liaises with relevant role players to establish whether there is sufficient factual support for blocking the transaction. It may be unable to intervene if the funds have already been dissipated.
The FIC responded to all 188 requests for section 34 interventions received during the year, although a response did not necessarily result in a directive being issued.
Financial intelligence reports and forensic products
The FIC produced 4 194 financial intelligence reports and forensic products during 2025/26, comprising 2 948 reactive reports, 1 094 proactive reports, 140 illicit-financial-flow reports, and 12 forensic products produced by its Monitoring and Analysis division.
Reactive reports are produced in response to requests from law enforcement agencies and other competent authorities. Proactive reports result from the FIC’s analysis of regulatory reports and other information.
The number of reactive reports increased by 28% from 2 300 in 2021/22 to 2 948 in 2025/26.
The proactive total comprised 952 medium- to lower-priority reports and 142 high-priority reports. The FIC says it considers factors including the extent and complexity of an investigation, the monetary value involved, the profiles of the perpetrators and victims, the types of crime, and the public interest when prioritising matters.
The 140 illicit-financial-flow reports substantially exceeded the annual target of 45. The FIC attributed the overachievement to an unexpected surge in reporting from crypto asset service providers and the accelerated processing of pipeline matters.
The reactive and proactive reports covered crimes including money laundering, fraud, bribery and corruption, and the financing of terrorism.
Of these, 1 977 related to money laundering. They comprised 1 082 reports involving self-money laundering, 592 concerning money laundering, 206 involving third-party money laundering, 63 relating to professional money laundering, and 34 concerning individual professional money laundering.
The FIC produced 50 court affidavits that contributed to judicial action during 2025/26, up from 28 in the previous year.
This was the highest figure in the five-year period reported. The FIC produced 39 affidavits in 2021/22, 21 in 2022/23, and 14 in 2023/24.
Its financial intelligence and related support are used by investigating authorities, prosecutors, the revenue service, intelligence services, and other competent authorities in investigations, prosecutions, and asset-preservation and forfeiture proceedings.
FIC assists the Madlanga Commission
The FIC also provided financial intelligence to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, commonly known as the Madlanga Commission.
According to the annual report, the commission approached the FIC for assistance in analysing financial flows, identifying illicit wealth, and uncovering money-laundering networks linked to corrupt officials and syndicate members.
Designated commission personnel were registered with the FIC as authorised officers under section 40 of FICA, enabling them to request and receive financial intelligence and reports from the centre.
The FIC said the intelligence it provided assisted the commission in uncovering complex organised-crime networks involving politically exposed people, law-enforcement officers, and business figures.
Asset Recovery Hub secures eight forfeiture orders
The Asset Recovery Hub began as a pilot programme in November 2023 to accelerate the recovery of assets suspected to derive from corruption, fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, and other unlawful activities.
Spearheaded by the FIC under the Anti-Financial Crime Coalition, the hub brings together law-enforcement and prosecutorial partners, including the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation and the Asset Forfeiture Unit.
Suspicious and unusual transaction reports submitted by accountable institutions are analysed by the FIC. Proactive intelligence reports containing indicators of money laundering or related predicate offences may then be channelled to the hub.
Under the model described in the annual report, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation undertakes the investigations required to turn intelligence into admissible evidence. The Asset Forfeiture Unit handles preservation and forfeiture proceedings once assets have been identified for recovery.
The hub obtained its first forfeiture order in March 2025. Since its establishment, it has delivered eight forfeiture orders with a combined value of more than R35m.
Its operation was expanded to all Asset Forfeiture Unit regions, while national co-ordination remained with the FIC. The hub forms part of efforts to strengthen South Africa’s non-conviction-based confiscation regime.
Forensic unit refers R77.2m in assets
The FIC’s Shared Forensic Capability issued 13 forensic products during 2025/26, compared with 12 in the previous year, and referred R77.2m in assets for preservation, forfeiture, or restraint, up from R14.37m.
The 13 products are reported separately from the 12 forensic products produced by the Monitoring and Analysis division and included in the FIC’s total of 4 194 financial intelligence reports and forensic products.
The Shared Forensic Capability provides forensic accounting, financial analysis, and evidentiary support to investigating agencies, prosecutors, and asset-recovery bodies. Its products include forensic reports and affidavits supporting investigations and court proceedings.
Since its establishment, the unit has handled 51 high-priority and complex cases. At year-end, 24 were under investigation and analysis, 10 were before court, five were awaiting feedback from law-enforcement agencies, and 12 had been closed following due diligence.
The unit applies a structured selection process to prioritise high-value or complex matters and those likely to have a significant prosecutorial or asset-recovery impact.
Its cases include racketeering, money laundering, corruption, fraud, theft, Public Finance Management Act contraventions, narcotics-related offences, extortion, and illicit wildlife trade. A significant portion of its workload involved large-scale commercial crime, particularly public procurement.
These matters included suspected manipulation of tender processes, payments for goods or services that were not delivered, were only partially delivered, or were delivered at inflated prices, and co-ordinated activity to extract funds from the state.
Demand exceeds forensic capacity
The annual report says demand for the Shared Forensic Capability’s services significantly exceeded its available capacity.
Requests came primarily from law-enforcement agencies, prosecutorial authorities, and asset-recovery bodies, including the Asset Forfeiture Unit and the Special Investigating Unit.
The capability remained in a formative and capacity-building phase during 2025/26. Staffing and resource constraints restricted its ability to respond fully to the growing volume and complexity of requests.
Many of its matters remained under investigation or before the courts, limiting the extent to which their outcomes could be reported publicly.
The FIC is developing automated tools for bank-statement analysis and single-view profiling and is procuring an electronic discovery system to process large volumes of emails, documents, and media files. It says these measures are intended to improve efficiency and analytical capability.
