On 15 June 2017, the Minister of Finance announced the coming into operation of a number of provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act, 2017 (the FIC Amendment Act). There are two important dates for affected parties to note:
13 June 2017
The first set of provisions commenced on this date. These provisions do not require changes to existing regulations, exemptions or internal systems of institutions to enable compliance with the FIC Act. The provisions deal mainly with information sharing, consultation arrangements, constitutional concerns relating to inspection powers, and improved functioning of the FIC Act Appeal Board.
2 October 2017
The second set of provisions will commence on this date. It will give effect to new concepts and approaches, will require changes to existing regulations and exemptions under the FIC Act, as well as staff training and major changes to systems by supervisors, the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, and accountable institutions.
Draft Guidance Note
A Draft Guidance Note was developed jointly by the FIC, SA Reserve Bank, Financial Services Board and National Treasury and released on Thursday. A further document titled “A new approach to combat money laundering and terrorist financing” was also released last week for public comment on how best to implement the new measures.
Consultations
The FIC appreciates the need for a transitional to achieve full compliance with the FIC Amendment Act after law takes effect. The relevant supervisory bodies will continue regular engagement with the relevant industries to determine a timetable for full compliance, and monitor progress on such compliance.
A document titled FIC Act Commencement 14 June 2017 contains details of what the changes entail, as well as links to the related documents.
A document titled Notice for publication of draft guidance contains links to the draft guidance note, further consultation documents and the online response form.
