The Team

Anél de Bruyn
Anél de BruynForensics Manager

Anél is an admitted attorney and Certified Forensic Examiner. She also completed a BA degree in Criminology. Anél specialises in the investigation of white-collar crimes, with a particular emphasis on those involving public sector entities. .

Anél’s areas of expertise include investigations into cover-quoting schemes, mismanagement of supply chain management departments, and conflicts of interest

Anél is a certified biometric officer and can digitally capture fingerprints using the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). The fingerprints are then checked electronically directly against the South African Police Services (SAPS) database.

She further conducts lifestyle audits, engages, and interacts with targets to gather intelligence and information on entities, individuals, and product related investigations. She further assists the Hawks, Special Investigating Unit (SIU), and SAPS with their investigations.

Qualifications

LLB (University of South Africa)
BA (Criminology) (University of South Africa)
Certified Forensic Examiner (Cum Laude) (University of the Western Cape)
Year of Admission as an Attorney: 2013
Certified Biometric Officer (Managed Integrity Evaluation)

Membership

Member of the International Association of Financial Crimes
Investigators

Sias Strydom
Sias StrydomCOO

Sias has extensive knowledge and expertise in forensic auditing and forensic investigations relating to aspects of fraud, corruption, theft and other white-collar crime, including misconduct and financial misconduct both in the private and public sector.

During his time working for some of South Africa’s most prominent accounting and forensic firms, he gained a wide range of experience in the areas of financial auditing, internal auditing, risk management, project management and corporate governance reviews with a specific emphasis in forensic auditing and forensic investigation.

Sias previously held the position of Director at a forensic services firm as the divisional Head of Forensic Services. Subsequently he has been the owner and Managing Member of a forensic services firm for more than 10 years.

With over 25 years of auditing and management consulting experience, he is a full member of the Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners (ICFP) and qualified as a Forensic Practitioner (FP) SA.

Qualifications

National Diploma – Internal Auditing (Technikon Pretoria, now Tshwane University of Technology)
Forensic Practitioner (FP) SA (Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners)

Memberships

Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners
Former member of the Institute of Internal Auditors
Former member of the Institute of Directors

Paula Kennedy-Smith
Paula Kennedy-SmithForensics Investigator

Paula has more than 30 years’ experience in the legal sphere including assisting with running law firms both in South Africa and internationally. She has an LLB degree that she obtained in the United Kingdom, and she is also a qualified mediator.

She completed her articles with a magic circle law firm in London before leaving to practice civil litigation and dispute resolution in what was then Hong Kong’s largest law firm. There, Paula represented various large corporates and also trained candidate attorneys.Paula has extensive experience in conducting large scale due diligence and discovery engagements, which is crucial when conducting forensic investigations. Her practical experience in data analytics using forensic tools such as RelativityOne in combination with her legal background allows her to easily identify fraud patterns and new trends whilst reviewing electronic evidence.

Qualifications

LLB (University of Exeter, United Kingdom)
Honours in the Law Society College of Law Final Examinations (London)
Qualified Mediator by ADR Network, South Africa

Farah Janoodien
Farah JanoodienFinance Manager

Farah joined DML Forensics in 2022 and is our Financial Manager. Farah positions herself with a strategic bird’s eye view of the company and stays involved in all areas of DML Forensics accounting. She also maintains a good understanding of all company functions by being a spirited team player.

Farah is a qualified accountant and as such has a keen eye on all things financial. She is able to deal with the specific smaller financial matters as well as have a solid understanding of the bigger picture. Her input into financial based forensic investigations is invaluable.

During her articles at Mazars, Farah gained valuable experience in auditing and whilst working at the Provincial Treasury in the Western Cape she acquired an in-depth knowledge of management accounting. This experience and knowledge give her an advantage when assisting on forensic investigation assignments.

Qualifications:

BCom Accounting (University of the Western Cape)
Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (University of the Western Cape)
Initial Test of Competence (SAICA)
Assessment of Professional Competence (SAICA)