Monday November 18, 2024
Trustees have been given a 15-day grace period to submit their details to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s (DJCOD) beneficial ownership register.
This comes after amendments to the Trust Property Act 1988 came into effect in April last year, in an effort to address beneficial ownership transparency shortcomings in the South African regulatory framework.
“As a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), South Africa is obliged to ensure that its regulatory environment is aligned with international standards in the areas of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism,” said the DJCOD.
The department noted that there has been a “low level of compliance” by administrators.
“This low level of compliance will have a significant impact on SA leaving the gray list by the January 2025 deadline. All administrators are reminded that the law is already in force and will continue to apply, along with penalties for non-compliance.
“The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development has issued regulations published in Government Gazette No. 48351 on March 31, 2023 to facilitate the implementation of the Amendment Act.
“Prior to these changes, the Trust Property Control Act 1988 did not provide for beneficial ownership reporting and therefore had no prescribed sanctions for non-compliance,” the ministry said.
The DJCOD warned that failure to comply with the provisions of the law will lead to “more severe penalties.”
“Under the Amendment Act, a trustee commits an offense if he fails to disclose to a responsible institution with which he deals in the capacity as trustee that the relevant transaction or business relationship concerns trust assets.
“The liquidator also commits an offense if he fails to record the details of a responsible institution as prescribed in regulation 3B; if they fail to prepare and record the beneficial ownership information of a trust required by regulation 3C and if they fail to maintain an up-to-date register of the beneficial ownership information required by regulation 3C , or fail to file a register of the prescribed beneficial ownership information in regulation 3C with the Master of the Supreme Court,” the department said.
The DJCOD said no further extensions will be granted after November 30. – SAnews.gov.za