According to section 43 of the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act (FICAA), Accountable Institutions must provide ongoing training relating to anti-money laundering (AML) and the counter financing of terrorism (CFT) to its employees with the purpose of complying with the provisions set out by FICAA and their internal Risk Management and Compliance Programme (RMCP).
Accountable Institutions should bear in mind that the FICA training requirement is not optional and businesses that fail to provide their employees with the required training, are regarded as non-compliant with the Act and could face potential administrative sanctions.
One of the most recent financial penalties was a fine of R140 000 imposed on an investment & insurance company by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). Amongst the breaches was the company’s failure to comply with the AML/CFT training requirements set out by section 43 of the Act. These failures were linked to deficiencies identified in their training material and their failure to adequately train employees. The initial penalty in terms of training deficiencies, prior to appealing, was R500 000 and a directive to take remedial action for the non-compliance was issued. In addition to the financial penalty and loss of revenue, it is also worth bearing in mind that the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) publishes its sanctions and could therefore impact the business reputation for some time to come.
DocFox FICA Training
In order to mitigate the reputational and financial penalties, Accountable Institutions can make use of third-party training such as the DocFox FICA Awareness Training. As per regulatory requirements, this introductory training course is designed to provide an overview and general awareness of the vital components relating to the FIC Act.
This 1-hour training session is centered around the requirements that FICA places on Accountable Institutions and their employees and also includes an explanation of money laundering and terrorist financing; the FIC Amendment Act; Ongoing Due Diligence and Know Your Client (KYC) facets; Record Keeping; Red Flags; Reporting Suspicions; and the consequences of non-compliance.
The sessions are hosted live, meaning Accountable Institutions will get a chance to interact with our trainers and ask questions.
Upon completion of this training Accountable Institutions will receive a certificate of attendance for their FICA compliance file, practical tips that they can put into practice and they will also be able to claim 2 CPD points towards their annual requirements if they are a FAIS representative, Key Individual or member of the FPI.
In order to enhance your FICA / AML knowledge, we also offer additional bespoke courses, you can visit our training page or email us to find out more.
To book your spot at one of our weekly FICA Awareness Training sessions, click the button below.
For any assistance or questions you might have regarding our training, please get in touch with us via compliance@docfox.co.za