SARB Imposes Administrative Sanctions on Nedbank Ltd
Nedbank has been hit with a R35 million penalty by the SARB.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) not too long ago warned Standard Bank, FNB, ABSA, Nedbank and Investec that they needed to make some changes to better identify, and report illegal cash flow and activity.
This demand to pull up their socks was in response to a threat by the global money laundering watchdog (called the Financial Action Task Force) that SA could be seen as a money laundering weak spot and could be “grey listed”.
The SARB Prudential Authority started to inspect these banks back in 2019 in regard to FICA requirements.
No Illegal Activity Identified
Now, Nedbank has not been accused of actually allowing any naughty money laundering activity to happen or anything. They are getting a (very expensive) rap on their knuckles because they have not been fast enough in getting steps in place to identify any such possible activity (a very expensive incentive to them and other banks to work faster).
‘Nedbank has not been accused of actually allowing any naughty money laundering activity to happen’
In fact, one of the main reasons for the administrative penalty is that Nedbank have not documented their internal processes fast enough and clear enough. They also got slapped with another R5 million fine about some of their record-keeping.
DID YOU KNOW?: Banks also have to report certain transactions exceeding R24 999.99
All banks are obliged under the law to report if they think they have received funds that are proceeds from a crime or criminal activity.
Nedbank (and all the other local banks) are working hard to get all these necessary steps in place (and documented) so that they can effectively assist the SARB in its fight against money laundering.
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