FSCA cleans up its sector

SUCCESS: LEADERS SAY THEY'RE SLOWLY WINNING WAR AGAINST ILLEGAL ACTIVITY

- Adriaan Kruger

Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) commissioner Unathi Kamlana and head of enforcement Gerhard van Deventer had a clear message for service providers in the financial industry when they presented a report on the agency's work over the past year: Obey the rules or face the consequences.

The numbers show that the institution acted decisively against those who refuse to toe the line and imposed 51 administrative penalties totaling nearly R120 million. The guilty parties received fines amounting to R68 million against persons of a single entity who had invested their clients' funds in an unregulated venture capital fund.

The three offenders involved in this scam were debarred from the financial services industry for 30, 20 and 10 years. The FSCA also withdrew their operators' licences.