We have partnered with several property institutions, partners, and practitioners and found that within the property sector, there is still a significant amount of uncertainty and misconceptions regarding the obligations that Property Practitioners must fulfill to be fully FICA compliant.
In order to offer a more comprehensive understanding of these obligations, we have developed a FICA Q&A guide.
*hover over the blocks to reveal the answers
Question:
When do you need to start the FICA process?
Should this happen when taking a Mandate or signing an Offer to Purchase (OTP)?
Answer:
The buyer should be FICA’d once the OTP is signed and/ or the agent is confident the transaction will go ahead. Onboarding can be initiated when the mandate or offer to purchase has been signed however FICA must be completed before the actual transaction is completed
FICA the Buyer when signing an OTP and the Seller when entering into a mandate.
Download full Q&A here
Question:
We have several branches across the country.
Are we required to appoint a money laundering reporting officer (MLRO) per branch?
Answer:
You can decide how to best set up the structure of your compliance reporting. You can have this centrally or distributed. Whichever you choose should be documented in your RMCP for clarity. Many businesses we see have a central MLCO and then regional MLROs who are closer to the local business - with the MLCO having full oversight of the MLRO’s. To set this up, the FIC can update your GoAML registration if you contact them on 012 641 6000.
Download full Q&A here
Question:
How can I check if a customer is a DPEP, FPEP or PIP?
What methods can be used?
Answer:
DocFox has an integrated watchlist screening solution tool that screens your clients for you against DPEP, FPEP and PIP lists that DocFox has curated. The other methods outside of having a screening tool, would be manually searching websites and articles, which can be time consuming.
Download full Q&A here
Question:
Why do you need to FICA sellers when they are only listing a property?
Answer:
When a property is listed for sale there is an intention to sell and a mandate created, therefore the FIC recommends that the seller is FICA’d. There is an intention to complete a transaction and FICA allows for the initiation of a transaction however identity verification needs to be conducted before the transaction is completed.
Download full Q&A here