Business

Help for the good guys

The FICA amendments go a long way to helping our developing country.

29 June 2017

I get really excited when I get a call from my company’s bank and a polite, but firm, consultant opens with the line: “Hello Mr Pierce, I’m calling from XYZ bank to verify the purpose of incoming funds.” Most of us are just thankful that our client, who is halfway across the world, has actually paid, enabling us to pay our bills.

The reality is that a very long piece of legislation called the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) compels my bank and other ‘accountable institutions’ to make that phone call. After all, my law firm’s bank account could be the perfect conduit for billions of rands to have a bit of ‘detergent’ added and then spirited into or out of South Africa.

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