By Nomthandazo Mtshweni – Communications Department (FSCA)
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority in collaboration with the North-West University (NWU), recently hosted the third annual South African Financial Crime Symposium.
The symposium brought together key role-players in the financial industry and law enforcement agencies to discuss new trends and approaches in the fight against financial crime in South Africa. The gathering also offered delegates an opportunity to report on steps taken to implement crime-fighting commitments made during the previous symposium.
This year, the spotlight was on South Africa’s grey listing by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2023; shared forensic capacity; the changing nature of financial crime; ponzi and pyramid schemes; improving inter-governmental public-private partnerships in combatting financial crime; and how to improve the effectiveness of The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA) and The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA) reporting.
During the two-day session, delegates presented significant findings on the continuous work done by the various entities in the fight against financial crimes, strategies and policies put in place, and practical recommendations to mitigate issues the financial industry is grappling with.
Some of the recommendations made during the symposium include the following:
- Increased collaboration between the different financial industry supervisory bodies and law enforcement agencies, to ensure successful implementation of the recommendations made at the symposium.
- Inviting more professional bodies/ institutions to participate in future symposium events.
- Establishment of a centralised database where practice standards are shared.
- Increased collaborative efforts on consumer education.
- Convening regular engagements amongst stakeholders to reflect and review progress on the implementation of action plans discussed at this year’s symposium.
Above and beyond the recommendations made, the general consensus was that more of these engagements are needed – as well as open communication and deliberate collaboration – in order to strengthen the fight against financial crime in South Africa.
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