FIC Compliance Notice for Estate Agency Firms

Recently, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) issued a notice to all estate agency firms, instructing them to complete and submit their Risk & Compliance returns by the 31st of May 2023.

All firms, branches, and franchises that have been issued a goAML Org ID number by the FIC, which serves as your FIC registration number, are required to submit these returns. This FIC registration number is essential for estate agency firms, branches, and franchises to register with the PPRA and obtain a Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC).

The required document is known as Directive 6 of 2023. Firms registered from the 1st of April 2022 to the 31st of March 2023 are obligated to complete this directive. The link to this document was emailed to all estate agency firms last year and can be accessed through the provided link.

The urgency of submitting this form stems from the South African government’s efforts to remove the country from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. South Africa was grey-listed in February 2023.

For South Africa to exit the FATF grey list, the FIC must ensure that its administration is current.

It is important to note that the majority of estate agency firms have neglected the request to complete this document.

Firms that continue to disregard this directive will be marked as non-compliant. It is highly likely that the FIC will share this information with the PPRA, which will then be compelled to prevent your agency from operating until Directive 6 has been submitted.

Directive 6 must be completed online using the following link.

For any queries, please contact the FIC’s compliance centre on 012 641 6000 or email [email protected]. For further information, visit www.fic.gov.za.