FICA
Financial Intelligence Centre Act
Requires accountable institutions to identify and verify clients, keep records, screen for sanctions and PEPs, and report suspicious and cash transactions to the Financial Intelligence Centre to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Sections
5
Duties
5
Questions
13
Assessment from
R 65 000
What it covers
The Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (FICA) is South Africa's principal anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) legislation. It was substantially amended in 2017 to move from a prescriptive, rules-based regime to a Risk-Based Approach (RBA), aligning South Africa with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. FICA applies to 'accountable institutions' — a defined list in Schedule 1 that includes banks, insurers, financial services providers, attorneys handling trust monies, estate agents, casinos, money remitters, dealers in high-value goods, and crypto asset service providers (added via FIC Directive 6 in 2023). It also applies to 'reporting institutions' under Schedule 3, including motor vehicle dealers. FICA requires accountable institutions to: identify and verify the identity of clients before establishing a business relationship or concluding a single transaction (Customer Due Diligence); conduct Enhanced Due Diligence on higher-risk clients including Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs); keep records of client identification and transactions for at least 5 years; develop and implement a Risk Management and Compliance Programme (RMCP) under s42; appoint a Compliance Officer or Money Laundering Reporting Officer; register with the FIC via the goAML platform; conduct ongoing employee training; screen clients against UN and domestic sanctions lists under the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorism and Related Activities Act; and report Cash Threshold Reports (CTRs, transactions over R49,999.99 in cash), Suspicious and Unusual Transaction Reports (STRs), and Terrorist Property Reports to the FIC. South Africa was greylisted by FATF in February 2023 partly due to weaknesses in FICA enforcement and beneficial ownership transparency — this has materially increased regulatory scrutiny and the urgency of demonstrable compliance for accountable institutions. Non-compliance with FICA carries among the most severe penalties of any South African regulatory statute, including imprisonment of up to 15 years and fines of up to R100 million for certain offences.
Does this apply to you?
It applies if
- Your organisation is listed in Schedule 1 of FICA as an 'accountable institution' (banks, FSPs, insurers, attorneys handling trust money, estate agents, casinos, money remitters, crypto asset service providers, dealers in Kruger Rands or high-value goods above prescribed thresholds)
- Your organisation is listed in Schedule 3 as a 'reporting institution' (motor vehicle dealers)
- You facilitate, broker, or process financial transactions on behalf of clients
- You hold client funds in trust or facilitate the transfer of client funds
Thresholds that change what's required
- Cash Threshold Reports are mandatory for any cash transaction (or series of related transactions) of R49,999.99 or more
- Single transactions for non-established clients above the prescribed threshold require full Customer Due Diligence regardless of business relationship status
- There is no minimum size exemption for accountable institutions — even small or sole-practitioner firms (e.g. a single attorney handling trust money) are fully subject to FICA
Exemptions
- Organisations not listed in Schedule 1 or Schedule 3 and not otherwise designated by the FIC are not accountable institutions
- Certain low-risk, low-value transaction types may qualify for Simplified Due Diligence under the RMCP — but this must be justified by a documented risk assessment, not assumed
What non-compliance costs
Maximum fine
R 100 000 000
Imprisonment
Up to 15 years for the most serious offences (e.g. failure to report knowledge of money laundering, tipping off, structuring transactions to avoid reporting); up to 5 years for failure to comply with RMCP, CDD, or record-keeping obligations
Civil exposure
The FIC may impose administrative sanctions including financial penalties, public reprimands, and restrictions on business activities without requiring criminal conviction; civil claims from defrauded parties may also arise where inadequate controls facilitated loss
Reputational
FIC administrative sanctions are published on the FIC website and widely reported in financial media; supervisory bodies (Prudential Authority, FSCA) may impose parallel licence conditions or suspensions; South Africa's FATF greylisting has heightened correspondent banking and cross-border scrutiny of non-compliant institutions
What the assessment covers
The assessment works through 13 questions across 5 duties, scored out of 157. Each answer generates the specific actions needed to close or prove that duty — and a “yes” only counts once its evidence is in, which is what makes the score defensible rather than self-declared.
The questions themselves are part of the assessment.
Find out where you stand on FICA
Run the assessment, get your score, and get the exact list of what to fix — with the evidence trail an auditor will ask for.