MONDAY, 1.30PM
DELEGATES to a British conference on economic crime have been warned that rivalry between South African government departments has delayed the creation of a money-laundering watchdog for more than a year.
Confusion over whether the proposed Financial Intelligence Centre will come under the authority of the Reserve Bank, the finance department, or the justice department caused the public protector’s office to extend a surprise offer to get involved. SA delegates to the conference are confident that they can sort out constitutional differences over the legislation, but are concerned that organisational shortcomings could leave SA open to massive fraud, especially with a greater relaxation of exchange controls.
The confusion over the proposed body stemmed from whether attorneys-general should refrain from prosecuting people who do not report suspicious transactions under the Proceeeds of Crime Act until the investigating body is set up. It was originally proposed that the centre should be made up of about 80 staff members of the Reserve Bank, who were being made redundant, because the lifting of exchange controls meant that fewer transactions needed to be investigated. Delegates said the finance department feels it ought to have responsibility for the centre, but that the justice department had also made a bid.
It was finally agreed that the centre will fall under the umbrella of the finance department, but that a decision on final details will need to be made by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel.