FSCA takes on scammers

AR475m penalty on the now deceased Jooste is one of the fines imposed in the past year.

- Ciaran Ryan

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) ramped up its war on financial scammers over the past year, as shown by the nearly 10-fold increase in administrative penalties in the year to March.

Total penalties imposed over the year tallied R943 million on 31 people, up from a little over R100 million the prior year, according to the FSCA's Regulatory Actions Report 2024 released on Friday.

One reason for this new enforcement zeal is to remove South Africa from the dreaded Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist by next year.

SA was placed on the grey list last year for lax monitoring and enforcement of money laundering and anti-terrorism financing. One of the improvements the FATF wants to see in SA is its ability to investigate and prosecute complex financial cases, such as the Steinhoff, Tongaat and BHI Trust frauds.

Executive head of enforcement at the FSCA Gerhard van Deventer told a media briefing on Friday that the increase in administrative penalties serves as an effective deterrent against non-compliance with the law.