South African Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority (PA) has imposed administrative sanctions on Absa Bank Limited following a 2022 inspection, citing non-compliance with provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001. The sanctions include two cautions not to repeat the conduct, a reprimand and a financial penalty totalling ZAR 10 million. ZAR 7 million of the penalty relates to failures to adequately perform customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence under sections 21(1) and 21A of the Act, affecting sampled files for four foreign prominent public officials (FPPOs) and two politically exposed persons (PEPs) linked to state-owned enterprises, as well as enhanced due diligence for three domestic prominent influential persons (DPIPs) and five FPPOs. A further ZAR 3 million relates to breaches of FIC Act Directive 5 of 2019, including 8,559 reported automated transaction monitoring system alerts and four non-reportable alerts not attended to within 48 hours, and two non-reportable suspicious transaction report/suspicious activity report alerts closed beyond the 15-day period set in regulation 24(3) of the FIC Act Regulations. The PA noted Absa’s cooperation and that remedial actions have been undertaken to address the identified compliance deficiencies and control weaknesses.
South African Reserve Bank 2025-04-25
South African Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority imposes ZAR 10 million administrative sanctions on Absa for AML compliance breaches
The South African Reserve Bank's Prudential Authority sanctioned Absa Bank Limited for non-compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001, after a 2022 inspection. Sanctions include a ZAR 10 million penalty: ZAR 7 million for inadequate due diligence on prominent persons and ZAR 3 million for transaction monitoring and reporting breaches. Absa has cooperated and initiated remedial actions to address these deficiencies.