Fica costs

Another burden is the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (Fica), which requires these institutions - attorneys, estate agents etc - to report suspicious transactions. The legislation has been welcomed as necessary for upholding South Africa's reputation in financial affairs. However, Neil Kirby, a director of Werksmans Attorneys, says that the extra cost of the compliance burden on attorneys, such as management time, consulting fees, new staff and staff training, will be significant.

Although no one has added up these costs, they will have to be passed onto the consumer. A lack of co-ordination between the different regulators has also been remarked on, as has the effect of the legislation on attorney-client privilege.

Article in Financial Mail