Capitec Bank, one of South Africa’s leading retail banks co-founded by billionaire banker Michiel Le Roux, has been sanctioned by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) with a R28 million ($1.74 million) financial penalty for breaches of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FIC Act).

The penalties, imposed by the Prudential Authority (PA) following an inspection conducted in 2023, highlight shortcomings in Capitec’s customer due diligence, enhanced monitoring, employee training and anti-money laundering controls.

Capitec Bank fined $1.74 million for FIC Act breaches

According to the Prudential Authority, Capitec was handed five cautions and financial penalties totalling R28 million ($1.74 million), of which R5.5 million ($340,832) was conditionally suspended for 36 months from October 13, 2025.

The PA imposed the largest penalty, R10 million ($619,694), after the bank failed to conduct adequate customer due diligence on sampled client files. Of this amount, the PA conditionally suspended R3 million ($185,903) for 36 months. The PA also imposed a R5 million ($309,839) penalty, with R1 million ($61,968) suspended, after finding that Capitec had failed to conduct adequate enhanced due diligence on sampled client files.

A further R5 million ($309,839) penalty, including R1 million ($61,968) conditionally suspended, was imposed over shortcomings in the bank’s ongoing customer due diligence.

Capitec was also fined R3 million ($185,903) after failing to provide ongoing training to sampled employees, while another R5 million ($309,839), of which R500,000 ($30,984) was conditionally suspended, related to deficiencies in its risk management and compliance programme.

Capitec faces fresh FICA sanctions

The latter findings included failures to obtain management approval for certain anti-money laundering name-screening and payment-screening investigation manuals before implementation, inadequate documentation of end-to-end terrorist property reporting processes, and shortcomings in policies and controls relating to terrorist property reporting and financial sanctions.

The latest action follows a R56.25 million ($2.97 million) sanction imposed on Capitec in 2024 after inspections conducted in 2021 and 2022 identified additional FIC Act compliance failures across its retail and business banking operations. Of that penalty, R10.5 million ($0.55 million) was conditionally suspended for 36 months.

Despite the latest sanctions, Capitec has cooperated with the PA in addressing the identified compliance deficiencies and control weaknesses.

Capitec’s position in the market

Founded in 2001 by Michiel Le Roux, Jannie Mouton and Riaan Stassen, Capitec has grown into one of South Africa’s largest retail banking groups, with a business model focused on providing affordable financial services to a mass-market customer base. The bank offers banking, lending, credit and savings products through its extensive branch and digital networks, while its growing customer base has helped establish it as a major force in South Africa’s financial-services industry.

The sanctions come as Capitec continues to expand its operations and strengthen its position in the country’s highly competitive banking market. The bank’s strong growth has also increased the importance of maintaining effective customer verification, transaction monitoring, financial-sanctions screening and broader anti-money laundering controls.

The latest regulatory action highlights the increasing scrutiny facing major financial institutions as regulators strengthen enforcement of financial-crime prevention requirements. For Capitec, the sanctions reinforce the need to address compliance weaknesses while maintaining the operational growth that has made it one of South Africa’s most prominent banking groups.