In late February 2023, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced the addition of South Africa to its so-called grey list, along with Nigeria, UAE, Tanzania, and Uganda. South Africa failed to satisfactorily address shortcomings in its anti-money laundering and -terrorist financing legal framework – which were highlighted in the FATF 2021 mutual evaluation review (MER). The Read more >
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By Eric JordaanFirst published on Moneyweb Following South Africa’s greylisting in February – and the recommendations made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the General Laws Amendment Act (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) places new obligations on companies to register prescribed information regarding beneficial ownership. Of the eight areas of strategic deficiencies Read more >
A report released in mid-March 2023 by the Tax Justice Network (TJN) shows a slow but steady implementation of beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) regulations across the African continent. Titled Beneficial Ownership Transparency in Africa in 2022, the report reveals the state of play of the introduction of laws addressing the lack of BOT, and examines Read more >
Plans are afoot to tackle South Africa’s lackadaisical beneficial ownership regime. The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has announced that it will implement a beneficial ownership (BO) information collection and storage regime as soon as regulations in that regard are promulgated. Greater BO transparency is a crucial component in the fight against financial crime. Read more >
South Africa’s national treasury has released a useful fact sheet on the background to and implications of the country’s recent greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Titled What does FATF greylisting mean for a country?, the six-page document explains the role of the FATF and the mutual evaluations all FATF members are required Read more >
By James GeorgeFirst published on Moneyweb It’s a loaded question, and a lot has been done such as President Ramaphosa signing two amendments to our anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorism laws in December last year. The real question, however, is whether these amendments are going to translate into actions being taken. Will we see prosecution, Read more >
The final part of the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act is due to commence in the early months of 2023. The General Laws (AML/CTF) bill proposed a sweeping range of integrated reforms to five pieces of legislation which regulated vastly different areas of concern – trusts; non-profit organisations; companies; and Read more >
By Sanan MirzoyevFirst published on Business Day In February 2023, South Africa will almost certainly be making an unwelcome appearance on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) roster of greylisted countries — unless “we perform a few miracles”. These were the words of National Treasury’s Ismail Momoniat when he presented a grim account before Parliament Read more >
In its 2021/2022 annual report, released at the end of September 2022, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) noted that it achieved 17 of its 19 performance goals – and exceeded 10 of the 17. One of these was to contribute to the recovery of stolen money in a way that exceeded its previous achievement. This Read more >