The Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Bill has been passed by the National Assembly in Parliament. The Bill has been sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence, to establish whether or not the house of parliament agrees with the Bill as it currently stands.
The Bill seeks to enhance South Africa’s ability to combat financial crimes by proposing measures to address threats to the stability of South Africa’s financial system posed by money laundering and terrorism financing.
The standing committee on finance introduced the following amendments to the bill:
- A threshold for due diligence on single transactions introduced;
- A flexible approach to risk management and compliance programme (RMCP) whereby accountable institutions (AI) may deviate from the prescribed minimum subject to an explanation;
- Removal of definition of prospective client. Accountable institutions are to determine this in line with RMCPs.
- New provisions requiring a general consultation forum and consultation with stakeholders on specific regulatory instruments;
- No definition on beneficial ownership threshold – to be mentioned in guidance note;
- The need for records to be kept only in South Africa was also removed from the Bill.
Masthead will keep you updated of any developments and how these may affect you.