FSCA to issue statement on one company mentioned in Al Jazeera documentary

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority  (FSCA) says it will issue a statement on at least one company that has been mentioned in the Al Jazeera documentary on gold smuggling.

The regulator published its first regulatory actions report that shows it issued administrative penalties totaling more than R100 million. The report focuses on enforcement interventions taken by the FSCA during the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority says of the 481 new investigations it opened, 406 have been finalized. It further suspended the licenses of 984 Financial Service Providers, withdrew 420 licenses and debarred 210 persons from providing financial services.

The FSCA also imposed R153 864 300 in administrative penalties on 44 investigated parties, even though only R100 million is payable.

“The idea behind all of this, is to simple change the behaviour…that’s what we are about,” says Gerhard van Deventer from Financial Sector Conduct Authority.

The regulator says some of the investigations involve alleged contraventions of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services, and Insurance Acts.

The majority of the FAIS matters relate to unauthorized business activities, which include operating as a Financial Services Provider without the required authorization.

The insurance investigations mostly concern unregistered insurance business, the majority of which was conducted by funeral parlors.

“We have very specific problem in that area now; this is not really fraud and theft…regularization outlook,” Van Deventer elaborates.

During the reporting period, the FSCA says it made several requests to foreign regulators to assist with its ongoing investigations and provided assistance in respect of five investigations by its foreign counterparts.

Locally, it referred 70 cases to the South African Police Service, during the reporting period. It also published 47 public warnings related to the rendering of unauthorized financial services.