Big Decline In Attacks On Atms

This is according to Project Big-Bang, a collaborative initiative by the South African Banking Risk Information Centre Sabric , Online Intelligence, the Petroleum Security Initiative, oil companies and the South African Police Service.

"This joint effort led to the identification, tracing and arrest of 46 top perpetrators linked to 69 cases. As well as the seizing of explosives, vehicles, firearms, clothing used at the scene and more than R400 000 in dye-stained cash," Online Intelligence, one Project Big-Bang's partners, said in a statement on Friday.

According to the statement, the Big-Bang task team was formed as a response to a 72 increase in ATM bombings between 2019 and 2023, as reported by Sabric. The initiative ran from May 2024 to January 2025.

Online Intelligence said that by working together to identify perpetrators and their modus operandi, the task team was able to create a comprehensive picture of how and why ATM bombings take place. Key areas where more data was necessary were also identified, it said.