Event Summary
While speaking at a brief on civil society compliance with the Financial Intelligence Act on 9 October 2025, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) warned civil society organisations, including faith-based groups, that they remain vulnerable to being used for money laundering and terrorism financing. The FIC director Bryan Eiseb said: “We cannot shy away from the fact that some civil society organisations are being misused for illicit purposes. You must know your sources of funding. If they are legitimate, that protects your organisation’s integrity.” He urged CSOs, churches, and other non-profit groups to register with the FIC and to declare their income sources in annual filings. Eiseb did say he viewed civil society, churches, community organisations and other non-profits as strategic partners in the fight against money laundering as CSOs were “guardians of transparency.”
The meeting was initiated by the Civil Society Information Centre which approached the FIC. The reason for the meeting stemmed from an attempt to avoid the confusion that arose in 2023 when the FIC threatened to have the bank accounts of non-profits closed if they did not complete the forms required by law.