Beneficial Ownership & Trust Compliance Update
Presenters : Dwight Snyman
Overview
The regulatory landscape governing beneficial ownership in South Africa has evolved into a strict compliance framework. Under the General Laws Amendment (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financial Terrorism) Act 22 of 2022, regulatory authorities have significantly increased their oversight of companies, close corporations, and trusts. Practitioners, directors, and trustees face severe professional exposure and administrative penalties if they fail to maintain accurate, up-to-date beneficial ownership records or fail to execute mandatory filings.
This webinar addresses the practical interplay between the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (specifically regarding the CIPC’s beneficial ownership register and hard-stop annual return blockages) and the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988 (detailing the Master of the High Court’s strict registration demands). Legal professionals must move beyond simple compliance checklists to actively analyse complex, layered ownership structures—such as trust-held shareholdings and foreign beneficial owners—to shield clients from regulatory rejections and personal liability.
Join Adv Dwight Snymanor a practical session designed to equip legal practitioners, fiduciaries, and advisors with the specific tools and workflows needed to manage beneficial ownership and trust compliance obligations securely.
Learning Objectives
Attending this webinar will equip you with the following skills:
- Assess the current beneficial ownership compliance frameworks enacted under the General Laws Amendment Act 22 of 2022 across corporate and trust vehicles.
- Analyse complex ownership and control structures to identify ultimate beneficial owners under the natural-person look-through principle.
- Execute the practical filing and verification requirements of the CIPC portal and the Master of the High Court’s online registers.
- Mitigate the professional exposure, transactional risks, and administrative penalties arising from non-compliance or CIPC annual return blockages.
- Structure robust internal recordkeeping, governance, and verification protocols for ongoing trust and corporate client management.
Content
The webinar will cover the following topics:
- Regulatory Framework for Beneficial Ownership Compliance
- Beneficial Ownership Concepts and Definitions
- Company and Close Corporation Beneficial Ownership Obligations
- Trust Beneficial Ownership Compliance
- Ownership Structures and Look-Through Analysis
- Filing, Updating and Verification Procedures
- Compliance Risk and Enforcement
- Professional Adviser Duties and Practical Implementation