The business sector has stepped in to provide substantial support to the NPA in prosecuting state capture crimes and expedite SA's exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, reports, Fin24.

A key new development is establishing a standalone digital evidence unit staffed by local and international experts, run at arm's length in a special purpose vehicle, and governed by an independent board of respected jurists.

The unit will be geared to extract information from encrypted devices to turn into evidence that can be used in court.

The announcement was made by Deputy NDPP Anton du Plessis at a joint media briefing between the Presidency and Business for SA (B4SA), a group that mobilises business resources to help fix state infrastructure problems.

The joint initiative between business and government has made substantial progress in addressing the energy crisis and is also focused on interventions in the transport and logistics sector.

However, the third workstream – crime and corruption – has made almost no progress, with the announcements yesterday the first. 

One of the complexities of the collaboration has been the need to create a firewall between the NPA and private interests so that the NPA remains sufficiently independent.

In the case of the digital evidence unit, the board will act as the firewall.

Du Plessis said: ‘This is a very focused and time-bound initiative to enhance government capacity to prosecute complex priority crimes that cause the most damage to our country. It is very important to make it clear. This is not a budget replacement project or an attempt to outsource government work to the private sector. It is a multi-stakeholder approach to tap into the very specialised skills that law enforcement and the justice system need to keep pace with the complex and growing threat of the crime we see today.'

According to Fin24, the collaboration will have two clear priorities: to get SA off the grey list, and to prosecute high-priority state capture cases.

To exit the grey list – which the government hopes it will achieve by the next FATF meeting in January 2025 – SA needs to demonstrate success in prosecuting money laundering and terrorism financing crimes. 

Twenty high-priority cases have been identified for special attention and will be provided with financial forensic skills rare within the NPA.

While recent legislative amendments have made the NPA's Investigating Directorate permanent, Du Plessis says ‘a missing ingredient’ has been the ability to extract and analyse complex digital evidence.

The digital evidence unit will assist the ID in plugging this gap.

Full Fin24 report