​Why does the FIC exist?

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) exists to apply measures outlined in the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (Act 38 of 2001), which are intended to make the financial system intolerant to abuse. The FIC does this by working towards fulfilling its mandate of assisting in identifying the proceeds of crime, combating money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. 

How does it fulfil its role?

 

The FIC does this by, among other measures:

• Providing for customer due diligence measures including regarding beneficial ownership
• Providing for a risk-based approach to client identification and verification
• Providing for implementation of financial sanctions and administering resolutions of the United Nations Security Council
• Sharing FIC and supervisory body information with competent authorities
• Providing for risk management and compliance programmes, governance and training on combating money laundering and terrorist financing
• Issuing FIC and supervisory body directives
• Along with supervisory bodies, applying administrative sanctions where there is non-compliance 

Registering accountable and reporting institutions​ 

What the FIC does

As the country's financial intelligence unit, the FIC implements its part of the country's framework for anti-money laundering and combating of terrorist financing by:

• Receiving transaction and other data from accountable and reporting institutions and other business, and conducting analysis on this data
• Producing financial intelligence from this data, for the use of competent authorities in their investigations and applications for forfeiture of assets
• In this way, the FIC contributes to the achievements in the criminal justice system.