Mpumalanga High Court 

The following matter was handed down by Mpumalanga High Court, Mbombela 2024:

• Sanlam Life Insurance v Chigombo (case number: MRCC 10/2023)

Fast facts

Applicant wished to make second early withdrawal on investment policy in 5-year period – Sanlam refused – Attempted to cancel the investment policy ...

Constitutional Court

Parties: Thistle Trust v Commissioner for SARS 

Judgment: 2 October 2024 

Keywords: Tax law – Conduit principle – Capital gains tax – Understatement penalties – Bona fide inadvertent error – Income Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 – Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, ss 25B, 26A

Summary

The ...

Free State High Court (Bloemfontein)

Parties: Voltex Pty Ltd v Jackson

Judgment: 30 September 2024

Keywords: Contract Law – Restraint of trade

Summary

The respondent, Ms Doris Jackson, had been employed by Voltex Pty Ltd (Voltex/the applicant) for 23 years in various capacities, including in a senior management position ...

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has imposed administrative sanctions on Bidvest Bank Limited due to its non-compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FIC Act) following an inspection conducted in 2022. The Prudential Authority (PA), responsible for overseeing adherence to the FIC Act, found that Bidvest Bank failed to ...

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has imposed administrative sanctions on HSBC Bank Plc's Johannesburg Branch due to its failure to comply with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FIC Act). Following a 2021 FIC Act inspection, the Prudential Authority (PA) found that HSBC had not met several obligations related ...

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has taken significant regulatory action against Global and Local Investment Advisors (Pty) Ltd (FSP 43286), along with its key individuals, Michael Haldane and Mauro Forlin. Following an investigation, the FSCA has withdrawn the firm's license and debarred both Haldane and Forlin for 30 ...

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has issued a warning to the public about fraudsters impersonating FSCA employees or entities to solicit funds fraudulently. Scammers are reportedly contacting victims, falsely claiming that the FSCA can help recover their funds in exchange for upfront fees. The FSCA clarified that it never ...

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) held its 8th annual Financial Literacy Speech Competition (FLSC) on 10 October 2023 at the Protea Hotel O.R. Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. Grade 11 learners from across South Africa participated, demonstrating their financial knowledge and public speaking skills on topics like financial planning ...

Compli-Serve

Whistleblower Reporting System

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has implemented an independent external hotline service, Deloitte Tip-offs Anonymous, which allows whistleblowers to report any wrongdoing related to the SARB or the Prudential Authority. The SARB emphasises its commitment to investigating all allegations of misconduct thoroughly.

Climate-Related Risk Management ...

Compli-Serve

In April 2024, an amendment to South Africa’s Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA) introduced a new criminal offence for companies and state-owned entities (SOEs): failure to prevent corruption. This significant legal change means businesses need to be more proactive in establishing anti-corruption measures to avoid liability ...

In light of the upcoming compliance deadline for the Joint Standard on IT Governance and Risk Management, financial institutions should not only view this as a regulatory requirement but as an opportunity to strengthen their operational resilience. With technology deeply integrated into every facet of financial services, a well-implemented IT ...

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) have introduced the Joint Standard on Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience, which mandates compliance for financial institutions by 1 June 2025. This new standard is pivotal in ensuring that financial institutions implement robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard against ...

Money laundering in South Africa reveals that the fight against crime is not limited to the streets, but extends into boardrooms, online meetings, banks, and businesses across the country, reports The Citizen. Hawken McEwan, director of risk and compliance at DocFox, highlighted that as crime rates rise, so does the ...

The arrival of the Russian frigate Neutrashimy, accompanied by the oil replenishment ship Akademik Pashin, at Simon’s Town naval base has sparked diplomatic and political tensions. Other warships from China, India, and Brazil are also expected to dock, with some reportedly participating in the SA Navy Festival, a joint exercise ...

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) recently imposed a significant penalty on Pretoria-based MIKA Finansiele Dienste (Pty) Ltd (MFD) for non-compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), reports Moonstone Information Refinery. Following a routine inspection in August 2022, the FSCA found several violations, including issues with MFD's Risk ...

By Compli-Serve

The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) recently hosted a workshop for Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) on the sector’s money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risks, highlighting compliance measures under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (FIC Act). Since being designated as accountable institutions in December 2022, CASPs ...

Creditors of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX are set to receive up to $16.5bn (£12.6bn) under a bankruptcy plan approved in the US on Monday, reports BBC News.

FTX went bankrupt in November 2022, leaving millions of global customers without access to their accounts. Former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried ...

Bloomberg reports that a new HBO documentary titled Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery has sparked a frenzy in the digital-asset community, leading to the creation of dozens of memecoins, as speculators anticipate the possible revelation of Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. One of the main candidates being speculated about is Len ...

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s (CSIR) Information and Cybersecurity Centre, in collaboration with the Cybersecurity Hub under the Department of Communication & Digital Technologies, has released findings from four national cybersecurity surveys conducted at the end of the 2023/24 financial year. According to Engineering News, these surveys ...

On 27 September 2024, the Information Regulator (IR) of South Africa, in collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, hosted the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) Symposium. IDUAI, recognised globally on 28 September, celebrates the right of individuals to seek and receive ...

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics and Business Law (IJEBL), led by Professor Ruth Taplin and Associate Professor Neels Kilian, has released its Fourth ESG Report on 7 October 2024. Building on previous reports from 2021 to 2023, this latest analysis delves deeper into the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices ...

Carbon markets have come under significant scrutiny in recent years, facing accusations of ‘greenwashing’ and widespread ethical concerns, according to an analysis by Dr Adam Cruise, a wildlife investigative journalist, in Daily Maverick. Cruise highlights findings from a report by the EMS Foundation, revealing that the voluntary carbon market often ...

Kenneth Newcombe, a former CEO of C-Quest Capital LLC and a prominent figure in the carbon offsetting industry, has been charged with fraud by US federal authorities, The Guardian reports. Newcombe is accused of manipulating data from carbon offset projects in rural Africa and Asia, falsely inflating their success in ...

Liquidators of the collapsed Aurum Wealth Creators scheme have alleged that its leader, Juan Meyer, operated the fraudulent investment operation from within his prison cell at Kgosi Mampuru prison in Pretoria. According to a Rapport report, Meyer was serving a sentence for illegal gold trading and theft when he allegedly ...

Old Mutual has reported an overwhelming surge in withdrawals from the new two-pot retirement savings system, with figures in the past two weeks more than double what they normally process annually for early fund withdrawals. According to Michelle Acton, the group's chief customer officer, Old Mutual has processed approximately ...

Compli-Serve

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will table the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament on Wednesday 30 October, National Treasury has announced.

The MTBPS sets government policy goals and priorities, forecasts macroeconomy trajectory, and projects the fiscal framework over the next three years by outlining spending and revenue estimates, amongst ...

US authorities have charged 15 individuals, including traders and market makers, in a market manipulation sting involving fake cryptocurrency trades. The suspects, representing firms like ZM Quant, CLS Global, and MyTrade, allegedly conspired to inflate the value of NexFundAI's token through wash trading. Unbeknownst to them, NexFundAI was a ...

By Lee Rossini

Workplace culture refers to the collective attitudes, values, behaviours, and practices that define how employees interact within a business. It includes both the written and unwritten rules that shape how decisions are made, how work is approached, and how people communicate. In many ways, workplace culture is ...

Former Steinhoff CFO Ben la Grange has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, suspended for five years, by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court after pleading guilty to a single charge of fraud. This development is part of the ongoing fallout from the Steinhoff scandal. According to a Business ...

A bank service consultant and his accomplice have been sentenced to 15 years in prison for siphoning money from a deceased man’s account, reports HeraldLIVE. Bantu Ntutwana, formerly employed at FNB’s Newton Park Branch, and Lunga Sinyaza were convicted in the Gqeberha Regional Court for fraud and violations under the ...

A repeat fraudster received a sentence of 75 years after he was arrested for posing as an advocate of the High Court to fraudulently withdraw nearly R1m from his supposed client’s bank account, reports TimesLIVE. Christian Coetzer misrepresented himself to Absa Bank when he walked into the Vereeniging branch in ...