13 December 2022
The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has at its last virtual plenary sitting for the year passed two Bills. These are: the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Bill and the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Amendment Bill. The two Bills were passed by the National Assembly last month and were sent to the NCOP for concurrence.
General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering) Amendment Bill is an omnibus Bill aimed at amending various pieces of legislation to address deficiencies related to combatting money laundering and terrorism financing and bring South Africa into compliance with the global standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global regulator of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.
The Bill amends five pieces of legislation: the Companies Act, Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica), Financial Sector Regulation Act (FSRA), Non-Profit Organisations Act and Trust Property Control Act. It proposes amending four of the abovementioned acts (not the NPO Act) to include a definition of “beneficial owner”.
It gives the executive arm of government unfettered powers to make regulations on access to information that is mainly private, particularly in respect of trusts. One of the main aims of the bill is to provide for the disclosure of the beneficial owners and the ultimate controllers of trusts, companies and non-profit organisations (NPOs). It addresses 20 technical deficiencies identified by the FATF in its Mutual Evaluation Report in October last year.
The Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Amendment Bill seeks to provide for the alignment with international instruments adopted upon the implementation of the Act; offences related to terrorist training; the joining and establishment of terrorist organisations; the possession and distribution of publications with unlawful terrorism related content; the removal of or making inaccessible publications with unlawful terrorism-related content; and offences related to foreign travel and attempts to leave the republic under certain circumstances.
It further seeks to provide for matters related to the Director of Public Prosecutions, in respect of the investigation and prosecution of certain offences; the issuing of warrants for the search and cordoning off of vehicles, persons and premises; and provide a direction requiring the disclosure of a decryption key and the effect of a direction to disclose a decryption key. When enacted into law, it will improve South Africa’s adherence to international best practices in combating financial crimes and corruption and stand as the strongest possible evidence of the country’s commitment to fighting financial crime.
The Bills will now be sent to the President for assent as required by the Constitution. The NCOP concluded its business for the year with farewell speeches.
ISSUED BY PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
