The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) published three Consultation documents during January 2019:
1. Draft Guidance Note 4B
This document deals with Reporting of suspicious and unusual transactions and activities in terms of Section 29 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA). The FIC proposes to update the existing guidance by including:
- Section 29(1)(b)(iv) relating to the financial sanctions reporting obligation,
- Indicators of suspicious and unusual activity relating to potential matches of client names on the Consolidated List of Targeted Financial Sanctions pursuant to section 26A of the FIC Act, and
- Additional examples.
Click here to read Draft Guidance Note 4B which contains the updates.
2. Draft Guidance Note 6A
This document deals with Reporting on terrorist financing and terrorist property in terms of Section 28A of FICA. The FIC updated the existing guidance relating to Terrorist Property Reporting (TPR) by including and discussing section 28(1)(c) regarding the financial sanctions reporting obligation.
Click here to read Draft Guidance Note 6A which contains the updates.
3. Consultation Paper on Crypto Assets
This is a joint publication by the FIC, Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), National Treasury, South African Revenue Service (SARS), and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). The consultation paper is an outcome of reviewing the position on crypto assets. Crypto assets are digital representations or tokens that are accessed, verified, transacted and traded electronically by a community of users – and are commonly referred to as crypto currencies.
A statement issued by South African authorities in 2014 warned the public that no specific legislation or regulation existed on the use of crypto assets and therefore no legal protection or recourse was offered to users of, or investors in crypto assets. The growing interest in crypto assets has since lead to the need to develop a policy and regulatory response to crypto asset activities in South Africa. The consultation paper provides background and context for the review as well as the scope of the crypto activities assessed. It further highlights the benefits and risks of the related activities, reviews the approaches by other jurisdictions, and provides recommendations for dealing with crypto assets from a South African perspective. The feedback received from the consultation paper will be used towards a crypto assets policy paper that will set out the manner in which crypto assets will be managed within the regulatory perimeter in South Africa.
Click here to read the Consultation Paper on Crypto Assets