Author: Contributor

by Andre van den Berg, Director, Banking and Finance; Zanrie Linstrom, Candidate Attorney; and Pooja Pundit, Candidate Attorney at CMS South Africa The greylisting of South Africa by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has not only called into question the country’s ability in combating financial crimes, but also caused reputational damage and highlighted its failure to regulate flows of money through both traditional financial institutions and alternative financial forms such as cryptocurrencies.  Cryptocurrencies have long ignited intense debate and discussion within the financial sphere, including in South Africa, where the realm of crypto regulation remains a work in progress. This intricate…

Ransomware attacks have been rising and it is companies that have a high level of preparedness who are weathering the storm. The Sophos State of Ransomware in South Africa 2023 report found that 78% of South African organisations surveyed had experienced an attack in the preceding year, up from 51% in the 2022 survey. Ransomware attacks introduce malicious software into a company’s systems. “The usual pattern our clients experience is that late on a Friday evening or a Saturday morning, company management is notified by the IT department that the Company has lost access to essential files, and has received a demand…

With the staggering rise of social media scams globally, business executives find themselves increasingly targeted by cybercriminals seeking to exploit their personal and professional lives. WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram have become prime platforms for scammers to lure victims into their web of deception.Social media scams have witnessed an alarming surge in recent years. In South Africa and around the world, cybercriminals are exploiting the widespread use of social media platforms to perpetrate their illicit activities. While the most common forms of social media scams involve phishing, fake profiles, and financial fraud, there is a more targeted and insidious threat lurking…

Electricity wheeling mechanisms play a key role in facilitating the optimal integration of renewable energy resources into the grid. Wheeling across high and medium-voltage lines has been the focus of Eskom’s wheeling strategies to date, but the proposed introduction of virtual wheeling, a new product offering by Eskom, opens opportunities for companies with multiple smaller and low-voltage loads scattered across various geographies in South Africa to participate in the market.  What is wheeling? Wheeling is the delivery of energy from a generator of renewable energy to an end-user (the off-taker or buyer) situated in another area. This is achieved using…

By Lerato Lamola-Oguntoye, Associate Director & Analisa Ndebele, Associate at Webber Wentzel At the 2023 Digital Assets and Sanctions Compliance Conference, Lerato-Lamola Oguntoye participated in a panel discussion on the regulation of crypto assets in South Africa and globally. The conference highlighted how distributed ledger technology/blockchain potentially diminishes anonymity in crypto-asset transactions. The popularity of cryptocurrencies stems from the fact that trading takes place in an anonymous environment where individuals may use pseudonyms and are not face-to-face. However, as the crypto industry grows and becomes more developed, it is becoming less true that “crypto is anonymous”. According to the Financial…

By Lerato Lamola-Oguntoye, Consultant & Analisa Ndebele, Associate from Webber Wentzel After amending the list of accountable institutions in Schedule 1 to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has published the final guidance for crypto asset services providers (CASPs) in Public Compliance Communication no. 57 (PCC 57). CASPs are listed in item 22 of Schedule 1 of FICA as accountable institutions because of the risk that crypto assets may be used to facilitate money laundering and terrorist financing.  The FIC said crypto assets are vulnerable to abuse by criminals due to their potential use in cross-border transactions, the pseudonymous…

By Carryn Alexander, Partner & Sakiwe Canca, Candidate Attorney from Webber Wentzel The South African Reserve Bank estimated that the rolling blackouts hitting South African businesses and households cost the economy approximately ZAR 900 million a day.  In addition, the Deloitte Centre for Sustainable Progress reported that – if left unchecked – climate change could cost the global economy USD 178 trillion over the next 50 years. Therefore, the proposed solar energy tax incentive aimed at encouraging the installation of rooftop solar panels to expand electricity generation represents an opportunity to address the current energy supply crisis and the imminent climate…

Africa’s journey to financial independence In a world where divisions and regionalism are on the rise, the African Union stands tall and resolute. While threats of fragmentation and divergent interests loom, Africa remains united and unyielding. There is no “Afri-exit” in sight, for the bonds of African unity remain unbroken. But let us delve deeper into the African Union as we celebrated Africa Day yesterday, and a more complex reality unveils itself. The continent finds itself torn between the financial and political interests of both the traditional West and the East. Though we may wear a facade of unity, unseen…

By Joshua Leroni, Candidate Attorney & Carla Collett, Partner at Webber Wentzel South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill and Performers Protection Amendment Bill could potentially harm rather than help the creative industry and needs serious reconsideration. Copyright serves two broad functions in society.  It reassures business and investors that the works they commission, licence and invest in are protected and can be commercialised.  It also ensures that the artists, authors, programmers, composers, and musicians who create the works are fairly and properly compensated. These are not competing functions. They are two sides of the same coin.  Without investment, creators cannot commercialise…

At the launch of the BambaLearn App by Afrika Tikkun Bambanani (ATB) last night, expert insights were shared around the upskilling and training of teachers required to assess and monitor learner development. Simultaneously the programme is designed to facilitate teacher progression equipping them to screen for learning difficulties and arrange intervention, provide psychosocial support and monitor child growth and progress. The BambaLearn App aims to extend children on the curriculum ensuring that no child is left behind. “The period from birth to six years old is the most vital stage of brain development for children and these informative years represent…