Authorities are calling on trustees in general and fiduciary practitioners in particular to speed up capturing of details of parties to trusts in the BO register on the Master’s Office ICMS platform. We remind FISA members of the obligations placed on trustees by the 2022 amendments to the Trust Property Control Act, 57 of 1988, as well as the amendments to the regulations under the act. Click here for our posts on these amendments on 5 April last year.
While FISA is aware of the shortcomings of the legislative changes and the unreasonable burdens these place on professional trustees, the fact remains that the changes created criminal offences for non-compliance with the recording duties under this act. We also remind FISA members that it is a requirement of the FISA Code of Ethics and of Professional and Responsible Conduct to comply with all legislation at all times.
The rate of capturing of these details by trustees is apparently a source of concern for the authorities, including the Department of Justice, the Financial Intelligence Centre and the National Treasury, as various authorities are working to have South Africa removed from the FATF’s so-called Grey List. The Minister of Justice issued a media statement recently, threatening harsh sanctions if capturing is not competed by 15 November 2024. Due to backlogs with the digitisation of trust files in the various offices of the Master of the High Court, however, it remains uncertain how many trusts are in existence in South Africa.