THE Treasury is proposing that banks and
other accountable institutions exercise greater scrutiny over what a
bill before Parliament describes as "prominent influential persons".
Greater vigilance is required over such individuals as they are regarded as being more "vulnerable" to bribery, corruption and money laundering. The definition proposed in the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Bill is broader than the "politically exposed persons" used internationally, which refers to those who hold public office.
The Treasury’s
chief director for financial investments and savings, Olano Makhubela,
said in an interview on Wednesday, on the sidelines of public hearings
by Parliament’s finance committee, that a broader definition had been
proposed to give recognition to the fact that public figures had
counterparts in the private sector who also required greater scrutiny.
Prominent influential persons would include top government officials
from the country’s president all the way down to municipal managers, as
well as company chairpersons, CEOs and chief financial officers.
Greater vigilance is required over such individuals as they are regarded as being more "vulnerable" to bribery, corruption and money laundering. The definition proposed in the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Bill is broader than the "politically exposed persons" used internationally, which refers to those who hold public office.
