FSCA warns against regulatory examination misconduct
Pretoria - The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has today issued an announcement noting an increase in the number of fraudulent activities being conducted in
respect of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS) regulatory examinations.
In a statement issued this morning, the regulator said these activities include candidates knowingly buying forged or fake examination certificates, unlawfully altering examination certificates, paying other persons to impersonate them when writing the examination and paying persons who supposedly have some form of control over the examination process to
guarantee a successful pass rate.
"The FSCA can, through the various processes and procedures implemented, identify these
fraudulent activities and the persons committing it. Several investigations of suspected
fraudulent activity are currently underway.
"The FSCA has zero tolerance for this type of conduct and is taking regulatory action against persons that have committed or are involved in this conduct, as it impacts negatively on their honesty and integrity. Persons debarred for this type of conduct will not be able to continue to work in the financial sector," declared the regulator.
The regulator said scams targeting candidates have also increased with scammers pretending to be legitimate examination providers, or pretending to assist candidates with making an examination booking, whilst their main motive is to steal the examination fee that is payable by the candidate to the examination body.
"In some instances, candidates sit for an examination that is not a legitimate exam, at an exam venue that is not operated by the approved examination institution, and receive certificates, which are false.
"Candidates are encouraged to directly deal with Moonstone, the only institution currently
approved by the FSCA to provide regulatory examinations in South Africa, and not to deal
with or make use of any third parties to book a regulatory examination," concluded the regulator.
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