
High Court rules on SARS’s R5.3bn claim against Sasfin Bank
The judgment dismissed parts of Sasfin’s exceptions and left SARS’s statutory claim under the Financial Sector Regulation Act to proceed.

The judgment dismissed parts of Sasfin’s exceptions and left SARS’s statutory claim under the Financial Sector Regulation Act to proceed.

The agenda includes the OMNI-Risk Return, COFI, FICA Business Risk Assessments, and practical cyber-resilience guidance.

Registration is open for Moonstone Compliance’s Regulatory Update Webinar on 12 November.

The FSCA identified serious lapses in Harith General Partners’ risk management, client due diligence, sanctions screening, and employee vetting.

The South African Reserve Bank cites deficiencies in Access Forex’s RMCP, customer verification, and staff training.

MBSE’s first CPD course in isiXhosa makes compliance training more accessible with translated material, subtitles, and assessments.

While submissions of the mandatory Risk and Compliance Return improved over the past year, 30% of institutions targeted by the FIC’s directives had not complied by March 2025

Requests for reports from the FIC rose by 17% in 2024/25, reflecting the FATF’s pressure on South Africa to strengthen its anti-money laundering efforts.

The FSCA found both firms lacked effective risk management capabilities, including deficient RMCPs, poor customer due diligence, and failures to screen against the sanctions lists.

New criteria require closer supervisory scrutiny of DNFBPs on market entry, ongoing oversight, and high-quality suspicious-transaction reporting.

As South Africa prepares for a tougher FATF evaluation, FSPs must master risk-based compliance – balancing security, cost, and strong partnerships to target real threats and protect legitimate customers.

The updated guidance gives concrete examples of compliance failures and explicitly states that poorly documented RMCPs may be treated as non-compliant.

Ensure registrations and filings are finalised by 5pm on 8 September and back up all records – the old system will be retired after the upgrade.

As regulatory enforcement escalates, MBSE’s specialised FICA, POPIA and NCA short courses provide financial professionals with the most practical way to stay compliant, avoid costly penalties, and build lasting client trust.

The sessions will cover institutions’ regulatory reporting obligations and establishing beneficial ownership.

Institutions that are wrongly registered as ‘business entities with a reporting obligation’ face being sanctioned by the FIC.

From funeral policy breaches to crypto non-compliance and weak AML measures, the regulator’s latest report outlines its key priorities – with online harm topping the list.