FICA
The purpose of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act No (“FICA”) is to establish a Financial Intelligence Centre and a Money Laundering Advisory Council in order to:

  • combat (i) money laundering activities and (ii) the financing of terrorist and related activities;
  • impose certain duties on institutions and other persons who might be used for money laundering purposes and the financing of terrorist and related activities;
  • amend the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998 and the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000; and
  • provide for matters connected therewith.

Herold Gie Attorneys is an ”accountable institution” in terms of FICA and we have stringent requirements with which we are obliged to comply. We adhere to all the obligations imposed by FICA and its regulations.

Our obligations in terms of FICA

  1. To establish and verify the identity of our clients
  2. To keep records of business relations and transactions
  3. To report receipts of cash above a prescribed amount to the Financial Intelligence Centre
  4. To report suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Centre
  5. To implement internal rules consistent with our obligations under FICA
  6. To offer compulsory FICA training to all our employees; and
  7. To appoint a compliance officer.

We request your assistance in complying with our obligations. Whilst we appreciate that the client identification and verification process may not always be convenient, we are not permitted to establish a business relationship or conclude a single transaction with a client (i.e. act on behalf of a client) unless the prescribed steps have been taken to identify and verify the identity of that client.

We may refuse to accept an instruction from a client until such time as the prescribed information and documents have been provided to us.

Please contact our FICA administrators on the email address below should you have any questions with regard to our client identification and verification process or your obligations in terms of FICA.
Our FICA administrators contact details are:

Name: Harry Durell

Address: 3 Wembley, 80 McKenzie Street, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa

Tel: 021-464 4700

Email: hdurell@heroldgie.co.za