(a) (b) and/or (c) (i) and/or (ii) (aa) and (bb)
It is not possible for me to disclose this information, as the FIC is not able by law to provide such information to the Minister of Finance. Provisions in the FIC Act place strict limitations on the public disclosure of details concerning information reported to the FIC and its activities concerning such information, which prevents it from acknowledging whether it has, or has not, provided information to an investigating agency or any other competent authority (section 29(4), read with section 53 and sections 40 and 41, read with section 60).
While the FIC’s mandate requires that it work in collaboration with competent authorities and agencies in any given investigation, the public disclosure of information relating to matters that may be the subject of an investigation could potentially have negative impact or undermine any such an investigation. It would therefore be irresponsible for the FIC to comment in public on operational matters in which it may be involved.
The information contained in the certificate dated 4 August 2016 as submitted by me on 14 October 2016 to the High Court (Gauteng Division, Pretoria), numbered 1 to 72, refers to reports submitted to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) by various institutions pursuant to their legal obligations under section 29 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (Act No. 38 of 2001, the FIC Act).
The FIC uses reports such as these, along with other available information to conduct its analysis and produce financial intelligence reports. It is important to note that one (1) STR reported to it does not equate to the FIC reporting one (1) suspicion for investigation. Rather, the FIC may evaluate patterns found across multiple reports made to it before it makes a referral to the law enforcement and other competent authorities for their investigation.