FICA amendment Bill constitutional – Basa
The Financial Intelligence Centre Act amendment Bill passes constitutional muster, says the Banking Association South Africa (Basa), urging Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance to refer the Bill back to President Jacob Zuma for signing into law.
Basa appeared before the committee, which held hearings to consider the President's referral back to the committee of a section of the Fica Bill, which he considered unconstitutional.
He believed Section 45(b)(i)(c) would allow for warrantless searches by finance inspectors in certain circumstances.
Although the hearings were, according to committee chairperson Yunus Carrim, meant to be limited to these issues, some stakeholders raised other matters related to the Bill and insisted the Bill gave unfettered powers to banks.
This, Basa noted, was patently incorrect if the Bill was read in totality, noting that banks were subject to the requirements of the Bill, which would regulate oversight on their accounts.
“We have no power or mandate over the Financial Intelligence Centre, which is a statutory body and this Bill does not give commercial banks carte blanche in the treatment of clients. Any narrative to the contrary is simply incorrect and inaccurate and only serves to create uncertainty at a time our country needs policy certainty,” said Basa MD Cas Coovadia.
He added that combatting public and private sector corruption, money laundering and the financing of terrorism, was essential to a conducive banking environment that benefits and serves all South Africans.
“We urge Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance to find that the concern expressed by the President is without basis and to refer the Bill back to the President for its signing into law, as a matter of extreme urgency,” Coovadia said.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation