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Money launderers, terrorist organizations and individuals have considerable knowledge of the insurance industry and take extreme measures to conceal their financial activities and make them indistinguishable from legitimate transactions.

 

SA’s framework to combat fraud

 

Money laundering is the act of criminals concealing illegal proceeds by buying, altering, and surrendering insurance policies to avoid traceability. Financing terrorism involves collecting funds to enhance an entity's ability to commit terrorist acts. South Africa's framework, including the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act, POCA, and POCDATARA, aims to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

 

Implementation and enforcement of legislation

 

In 2017, FICA was amended to align with FATF standards and impose obligations on accountable institutions like insurers to detect and invest in money laundering and terrorist financing. These institutions must apply a risk-based approach to customer due diligence, determining risk profiles, implementing effective controls, and balancing residual risk.

 

The POCA aims to prevent money laundering, organized crimes, and criminal gang activities. The Director of Public Prosecutions and the National Prosecuting Authority oversee its implementation. The POCDATARA, introduced in 2005, combats terrorist activities in South Africa, both within and outside the country. Contraventions of FICA provisions may result in prosecution under POCA or POCDATARA.

 

Key agencies enforce legislation and identify contraventions. The Financial Intelligence Centre (FlC) was established by FICA to combat money laundering and terrorist financing by gathering, analyzing, and distributing financial intelligence to identify crime proceeds and combat money laundering.

 

The FATF is an independent body that promotes legal, regulatory, and operational measures to protect the global financial system against money laundering and terrorist financing. Its recommendations are recognized as global anti-money laundering (ANL) and counterterrorist financing (CFT) standards. South Africa must ensure compliance with these standards.

 

The HAWKS in South Africa combats financial, organized, economic, and corruption crimes, referring cases to the National Prosecutor's Office (NPA). The Specialist Investigative Unit was established in 2019 to prosecute commercial and organized crimes. NPA's decision is based on evidence, case strength, conduct, and justice interests.

 

Mitigation of insurance crimes

 

The South African Insurance Crime Bureau (SAICB) was established in 2008 to combat organized insurance crimes and fraud. It combines insurance companies, law enforcement agencies, and stakeholders to detect, prevent, and mitigate insurance crimes. Long-term and short-term policies are vulnerable to money laundering and terrorist financing, as criminals can conceal illegal proceeds. Insurers rely on audited financials to assess companies' risk.

 

The International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 240, adopted by SAICA, mandates auditors to identify and assess fraud risks, design and implement appropriate responses, and respond accordingly. Failure to comply can result in insurers underwriting policies based on fraudulent financial statements, as seen in the Steinhoff scandal. Auditors should take extra precautions to prevent fraud perpetrated by executives.

 

The effective implementation of the law

 

South Africa's corruption practices, involving businesses and politicians, have led to significant corruption proceeds and undermined key agencies. The FATF deemed South Africa's financial crime measures inadequate, requiring a year to respond promptly or face grey listing. The slow implementation of HAWKS' recommendations for financial investigators and forensic accountants also contributed to the country's high-risk status.

 

South Africa has numerous legislative measures to combat financial crimes, but their implementation is slow and inadequate. This results in a reactive response, with few prosecutions and convictions. Global concerns about South Africa's ability to respond, prevent, and prosecute financial crimes have increased. With corruption and financial crimes increasing, law enforcement and key agencies need more resources to effectively combat these crimes.

 

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