WHO NEEDS TO REGISTER with the FIC?

Schedule 1 and 3 to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act lists who should register with the FIC as Accountable and Reporting Institutions respectively. A failure to register with the FIC carries maximum penalties of up to R10m (R50m for entities) and 5 years in prison. Yikes!

It is also quite important to note that each branch of a business must register with the FIC separately, not just the head office.

The difference between Accountable and Reporting institutions are that Reporting Institutions merely report certain transactions on a continual basis, whereas Accountable institutions need to have policies and procedures to identify clients, to risk rate them according to a risk management control program and ultimately report certain transactions to the FIC such as Cash Threshold Reports (CTR's) and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STR's), among other things.

​"It is also quite important to note that each branch of a business must register with the FIC separately, not just the head office.

At the time this is published the list of Accountable and Reporting institutions are as follows:

Accountable Institutions

1. A practitioner who practices as defined in section 1 of the Attorneys Act, 1979 (Act No. 53 of 1979).
2. A board of executors or a trust company or any other person that invests, keeps in safe custody, controls or administers trust property within the meaning of the Trust Property Control Act, 1988 (Act No. 57 of 1988).
3. An estate agent as defined in the Estate Agency Affairs Act, 1976 (Act No. 112 of 1976).
4. An authorised user of an exchange as defined in the Securities Service Act, 2004 (Act No. 36 of 2004).
5. A manager registered in terms of the Collective Schemes Control Act, 2002 (Act 45 of 2002), but excludes managers who only conduct business in Part VI of the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act (Act 45 of 2002).
6. A person who carries on the "business of a bank" as defined in the Banks Act, 1990 (Act No. 94 of 1990). A mutual bank as defined in the Mutual Banks Act, 1993 (Act No. 124 of 1993).
7. A person who carries on a "long-term insurance business" as defined in the Long-Term Insurance Act, 1998 (Act No. 52 of 1998).
8. A person who carries on the business of making available a gambling activity as contemplated in section 3 of the National Gambling Act, 2004 (Act7 of 2004) in respect of which a license is required to be issued by the National Gambling Board or a provincial licensing authority.
9. A person who carries on the business of dealing in foreign exchange.
10. A person who carries on the business of lending money against the security of securities.
11. A person who carries on the business of a financial services provider requiring authorisation in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 2002 (Act 37 of 2002), to provide advice and intermediary services in respect of the investment of any financial product (but excluding a short term insurance contract or policy referred to in the Short-term Insurance Act, 1998 (53 of 1998) and a health service benefit provided by a medical scheme as defined in section 1 (1) of the Medical Schemes Act, 1998 (Act 131 of 1998.)
12. A person who issues, sells or redeems travellers' cheques, money orders or similar instruments. The Postbank referred to in section 51 of the Postal Services Act, 1998 (Act No. 124 of 1998). 
13. The Ithala Development Finance Corporation Limited. 
14. A person who carries on the business of a money remitter.

Reporting Institutions

1. A person who carries on the business of dealing in motor vehicles.
2. A person who carries on the business of dealing in Kruger rands.

Now it is also interesting to note that these lists are under review by the FIC and they will likely be expanded to include other service and product companies such as credit providers and auctioneers.

If you or your company needs any advice or services that with regards to FICA and Anti-Money Laundering please give us a call!