South Africa fines Standard Bank R17 million over transfer compliance

South Africa’s Prudential Authority imposed a financial penalty of R17 million on The Standard Bank of South Africa, of which R5 million is conditionally suspended for 36 months from May 19, 2026, after a 2023 inspection found the bank had failed to adequately conduct customer due diligence on 34 percent of sampled money or value transfer services client files, had not kept proof of address or work permits for 52 percent of sampled files, and had left large shares of transfer staff without required anti-money laundering training. The sanctions also include three cautions and three reprimands, and the authority said the bank cooperated and undertook the remedial action required.

In a second release the authority fined HBZ Bank R3 million, of which R2 million is conditionally suspended on the same terms, for late, missing and misclassified cash threshold and suspicious transaction reports, including 78 percent of sampled transactions reported to the Financial Intelligence Centre in the wrong category. HBZ also received three cautions and a reprimand, and the authority said it cooperated to remediate the deficiencies.