As June 2025 approaches and with it hopes of South Africa being removed from the Financial Action Task Force greylist, local regulators and financial services authorities are taking swifter, more visible action to clamp down on illegal activities in the sector.

Listen to this article 5 min Listen to this article 5 min The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and the South African Reserve Bank are taking no prisoners in their quest to clean up the sector.

Most recently, the FSCA withdrew the licence of Global and Local Investment Advisors and barred Michael Haldane and Mauro Forlin for 30 years, following a lengthy investigation into the BHI Trust, which was revealed to be nothing more than a Ponzi scheme.

The FSCA investigation confirmed that Global and Local, Haldane and Forlin conducted financial services with the BHI Trust, which had conducted financial services activities despite not being an authorised financial services provider (FSP).

Kingpin Craig Warriner took a plea deal last May and received a 25-year prison sentence for 206 counts of fraud and a charge of breaching the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act by operating without an FSP licence.

Haldane and Forlin did not properly assess the appropriateness of the BHI Trust product in relation to its client risk profiles, which included pensioners with no other source of income.

Their 30-year debarment means they cannot:

Provide or be involved in the provision of financial services;Act as a key person of...