The violations identified by the SARB include the Bank of China’s failure to conduct proper customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence on sampled customer relationships.
Also, the bank failed to report suspicious transactions and activities to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) promptly and did not address automated transaction monitoring system alerts within the required 48-hour timeframe. These failures contributed to the SARB’s decision to impose sanctions on the Joburg branch.
‘the bank failed to report suspicious transactions and activities to the Financial Intelligence Centre’
The administrative sanctions imposed by the SARB consist of four cautions, a reprimand, and a financial penalty totalling R30.5 million (with R15.25 million conditionally suspended for 36 months starting from March 2024).
The SARB highlighted that the bank’s shortcomings also included inadequately developing and documenting its risk management and compliance program (RMCP), properly identifying and managing risks, and ensuring that its RMCP was approved by its board of directors.