The FSCA and Ravensberg Advisory and Consulting Services have reached an agreement in terms of which 65% of the penalty the Authority imposed on the Cape Town-based tax, advisory and consulting company will be suspended for three years.
According to a media release, the FSCA fined Ravensberg R780 000 in February for contravening the following sections of the Financial Centre Intelligence Act (Fica):
- Section 22A, which requires accountable institutions to keep records of transactions;
- Section 28, which requires accountable institutions and reporting institutions to report the particulars of cash transactions that exceed the prescribed limit to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC);
- Section 42(1), which requires accountable institutions to develop, maintain and implement a risk management and compliance programme (RMCP); and
- Section 42(2), which sets out the requirements for an RMCP.
Ravensberg lodged an appeal with the FIC’s Appeal Board to overturn the penalty.
Following discussions between the FSCA and Ravensberg, both parties agreed to settle the appeal. The settlement agreement was made an order of the Appeal Board, and Ravensberg has withdrawn its appeal, the FSCA said.
The consent order provides that, having found Ravensberg’s non-compliance with Fica to be negligent, R505 000 of the penalty of R780 000 is suspended for three years. This is conditional upon Ravensberg not contravening the abovementioned sections of Fica during the period of suspension.
The FSCA said it noted the payment of the settlement amount and the commitment by Ravensberg to remediate the identified compliance deficiencies and control weaknesses.
