The information was made available by the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, when asked if any criminal investigation has been opened against any officials of the Postbank in this case. Her reply included that there are no specific Postbank, South African Post Office (SAPO) or Sassa staff members that are separately investigated. However, all the staff members that were close to where the incident took place are being treated as suspects.

The question that was asked by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) member in the National Assembly, Liezl van der Merwe, also revealed that no arrests have been made, however, the staff that were close to where the incident took place are included in the list of staff being investigated by the Hawks. It is reported that between 16 and 28 October 2021, millions were fraudulently transferred to 279 accounts and withdrawn at ATMs using cloned cards. It was also alleged that the crime was committed by either Postbank employees or contractors considering the nature of the breach as the money was stolen from Sassa accounts from the Postbank.

In light of the above information, Van der Merwe asked if Postbank officials and contractors working with Sassa accounts undergo security vetting. Zulu’s reply stated as part of the recruitment and selection process within Postbank, all candidates are vetted before being appointed; it is in alignment with the Postbank’s HR Recruitment and Selection Policy. The vetting of candidates includes criminal checks, credit checks, qualification verifications, ID checks and SA citizenship checks.

When it comes to contractors, Postbank has two types of contractors, fixed-term contractors and contractors provided by the service provider. The fixed-term contractors do, however, undergo the same recruitment and selection process as Postbank candidates before appointment. There is a standard clause for contractors provided by the service provider, that they must be security-vetted and approved before working on Postbank IT systems.

As far as the case at hand is concerned, Zulu stated a formal criminal case was opened as soon as the incident was discovered. The case was opened with the Specialised Unit of the Organised Crime Unit of the SAPS. Over 600 pages of information gathered by the Postbank’s internal investigation was handed over to the Hawks. She also detailed that the Hawks are following all leads and the Postbank has so far been cooperating fully with the investigators.

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