R119m lost, unmarked cash and entire ATMs stolen in recent unrest - SABRIC
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) says R119.4 million has been lost in the banking sector due to the unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal last month.
A total of 1,227 ATMs were damaged.
SABRIC says 256 of the ATMs were broken into using force and 36 were stolen and have not been recovered.
"Physical cash stolen from ATMs and bank branches amount to R119,400243 to date. This amount excludes all further infrastructure damage and replacement costs," says SABRIC CEO, Nischal Mewalall in a statement.
"The theft of R119 400 243 in hard cash is very concerning. Not all notes are dye-stained and millions in unsoiled notes will be injected back into the economy,” Mewalall adds
“This money is the proceeds of crime and there is now a war chest available to fund more organised crime, to corrupt more officials, and promote lawlessness.”
Mewalall has encouraged businesses to be vigilant for suspicious transactions and immediately report them to the Financial Intelligence Centre.
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