SAIBA submission on the General Laws Amendment Bill

26 October 2022

The General Laws Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Bill aims to strengthen South Africa’s legislative framework to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. It proposed amendments to the following laws:

• Trust Property Control Act, 1988: Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
• Nonprofit Organisations Act, 1997: Minister of Social Development
• Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001: Minister of Finance
• Companies Act, 2008: Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
• Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017: Minister of Finance

The amendments posed additional reporting requirements from companies and trusts. All non-profit organisations would be subjected to registration and record keeping requirements with punitive measures in place for offences.  

SAIBA’s submission on the GLA Bill proposed that:

• The role of qualified accountants’ in ensuring the integrity and completeness of reported information should be legislated
• NPOs with small or negligible risk of terrorist abuse should not be subjected to the same requirements than NPOs with higher risks. Guidance should be given on exactly when does an informal arrangement become eligible for registration when applying the definition of the Act, as this is not clear.
• The practical application of the proposed punitive measures should be considered specifically considering the volunteer nature of the work performed.

Read the SAIBA submission here: SAIBA Submission on the NPO Amendment Act