Tag: Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA)

The key to helping investors to better protect themselves from falling victim to investment fraud is to stay alert and be aware of the key characteristics and red flags associated with Ponzi and Pyramid schemes. Ponzi schemes have existed for over one hundred years and range in shape, complexity, and size. Investors are often promised extraordinarily high returns within a short period of time, with little or no risk.

For most people, one of the most fascinating aspects of cryptocurrency is the ability to bypass traditional financial intermediaries, such as banks, and directly control their funds. But what many people may not know is that cross-border crypto asset transactions require prior exchange control permission.

The Financial Sector Regulation (FSCA) and the Prudential Authority (PA) published Joint Standard 2 of 2024 on Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Requirements on 17 May 2024. The Joint Standard 2 of 2024 (Joint Standard) applies to all financial institutions as defined in the Joint Standard. It sets out the requirements for sound practices and processes relating to cybersecurity and cyber resilience for financial institutions.

As a global leader in the cryptocurrency industry, we recognise the significance of the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority's (FSCA) recent decision to include cryptocurrencies within its licensing legislation. This move comes at a crucial time for the evolution of crypto as an investment asset class in South Africa, signalling the maturation of the local crypto market and a step towards integrating digital assets into the mainstream investment ecosystem.

Gone are the days of box-ticking. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has recently imposed administrative sanctions on two financial services providers (FSPs), in each case for failing to comply with certain provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA). 

National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) provided important feedback at the recent sitting of the Standing Committee on Finance as part of the parliamentary process regarding the much anticipated two-pot retirement system.

On 1 April 2023, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) released its new “beneficial ownership register” functionality on its e-services platform. This new requirement has placed companies under the spotlight as they must now declare their beneficial ownership to the CIPC. This means the days when the “warm body” which sits behind a company can no longer remain off record.

Considerable negative public comment notwithstanding, the National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) have pressed ahead with the establishment of a new statutory body, this time a state insurer of bank-deposits.

The Medical Schemes Act (MS Act) requires a person to be accredited by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) as a broker, before being allowed to provide “broker services”. The MS Act defines “broker services” as the provision of service or advice in respect of access to or benefits offered by a medical scheme.

After a long, hard year, many of us look forward to charging full steam into the festive season; spending and spoiling ourselves and our loved ones with abandon. And when it comes time to deal with the consequences of our financial decisions…well, isn’t that what January is for?