An analysis of the security vetting files of 19 employees within a South African National Department ("the researched department"), who had been found guilty of financial misconduct in the last five years, uncovered that existing security vetting processes did not detect the financial misconduct of which these employees have been found guilty. This research sets out to establish whether security vetting can be extended to include the detection of financial misconduct within said department and if so, how. Moreover, if security vetting can indeed be so extended, can it possibly enhance the management of fraud risk across all South African public sector departments. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 27 employees, who are key to fraud risk management and security vetting within the researched department. During the interviews, the following 5 themes emerged, were probed and are reported on: (1) the reasons why employees commit financial misconduct and (2) why it is not detected by the security vetting process; (3) the potential alignment of the security vetting process to facilitate the detection of financial misconduct; (4) the following through on security vetting findings, and (5) particularly sharing these findings with 1 the internal audit and risk management functions within state departments. The research established, firstly, that security vetting can indeed be extended to include the detection of financial misconduct within the researched department, and secondly, that it can enhance the management of fraud risk across all South African public sector departments, given the specific mandate of the State Security Agency ("SSA") and the national security vetting strategy.

This article is aimed at augmenting current awareness of virtual currencies ("VCs") in the South African legal community. To this end, it introduces the reader to VCs in general and decentralised convertible VCs ("DCVCs") in particular. Due to their design and interaction with the real economy and currency, DCVCs are on the radar of many financial regulators worldwide. As Bitcoin is considered the leading type of DCVC in terms of value and volume, its early beginnings in South Africa are probed. Although regulation should follow innovation, awareness of the VC ecosystem will not only warrant appropriate regulatory intervention when the time comes, but will also enable the growth and development opportunities associated with VCs. South Africa has not promulgated any legislation pertaining to VCs. The potential applicability of all current legislation and regulations relevant to VCs calls for in-depth research. This article aspires to serve as an appetiser to do so.