The Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001 (FICA) was enacted for the purpose of identifying the proceeds of unlawful activities, combating money laundering and the financing of terrorist and related activities.

FICA imposes certain obligations on persons and institutions that may be approached and employed for these purposes. As an attorney firm, we qualify as an accountable institution in terms of FICA and must comply with its requirements. FICA obliges us to establish and verify the identity of our clients. We are required to request copies of certain documents that have been identified as necessary for this purpose and keep adequate records of these documents for a certain time period.

FICA also requires us to report certain domestic and international transactions to the Financial Intelligence Centre, which in turn provides such information to other intelligence and investigatory bodies, should the circumstances so require.

As a firm, we are committed to ethical conduct and the prevention of money laundering and terrorist activities, but aim to balance the rights and privacy of our clients against our obligations in terms of FICA and undertake to maintain the privacy of our clients and only to disclose such information as required to be kept by us in terms of FICA and when requested to do so by the Financial Intelligence Centre.

Should you have any questions relating to FICA, you can contact our Compliance Officer, Gerhard Smit at gerhard@mblh.co.za or 021 840 8000.