FICA (Performing Customer Due Diligence)

It was confirmed by the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) that firms who are Company and Trust Service Providers and who are registered with the FIC are obliged to perform Customer Due Diligence (CDD) on all existing and prospective new clients for which they provide certain specified activities.

CDD procedures must form part of your firm's Risk Management Compliance Program (RMCP)

Please join me on Thursday, 7 September, from 9:00 to 13:00 for a practical workshop where I will take you through the Customer Due Diligence procedures you must perform in your firm. I will also take you through all the documents that must be completed, as well as the risk assessments that must be performed.

The following topics will be discussed:

• Meaning of Customer Due Diligence (CDD)
• When must CDD procedures be performed?
• On which clients must CDD procedures be performed
• Activities considered to be a business relationship or single transaction
• Identification and verification of existing and prospective clients
• Verification and corroboration of the client's identity
• Understanding and obtaining information about the business relationship
• Anonymous clients and clients acting under false or fictitious names
• Money Laundering threats and vulnerabilities posed by international geographic areas
• Establish if a person is a Domestic Politically Exposed Person (DPEP)
• Establish if a person is a Foreign Politically Exposed Person (FPEP)
• Obtaining additional information from a client who poses a high risk for money laundering
• Establishing and verifying the identities of natural persons/sole proprietors
• Assessing the risk of a natural person/sole proprietor
• Establishing and verifying the identities of a corporate entity
• Assessing the risk of a corporate entity
• Establishing and verifying the identities of a partnership
• Assessing the risk of a partnership
• Establishing and verifying the identity of a trust
• Assessing the risk of a trust
• Ongoing due diligence/account monitoring
• Doubts about the veracity of previously obtained information
• Inability to conduct customer due diligence
• Maintaining the correctness of the client's information
• Receipt and acceptance of funds before completion of the Customer Due Diligence measures
• Screening against the TFC lists
• Impact of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 on the identification and verification requirements of the FIC Act.