South Africa
Anti-corruption compliance in South Africa
South Africa now holds companies responsible when people acting for them pay bribes and the company had no adequate procedures. Here is what the law requires, what is still pending and how it sits alongside the FCPA.
Compliance guidance, not legal advice.
PRECCA and the duty to report
The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004 (PRECCA) is South Africa’s principal anti-corruption statute. Section 34 requires a person in a position of authority, such as a company director or manager or the executive manager of a bank, who knows, ought reasonably to have known or suspects that another person committed a corruption offense, or theft, fraud, extortion, forgery or uttering involving R100,000 or more, to report it to the police’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. Failing to report is an offense, punishable by a fine or up to 10 years’ imprisonment in a High Court or regional court [s.34] [s.26].
Section 34A: failure to prevent corruption
This is already law, not a proposal. Section 34A was inserted by the Judicial Matters Amendment Act 15 of 2023 and has been in force since 3 April 2024 [DoJ factsheet] [Accountability Tracker]. A private-sector entity or incorporated state-owned entity commits the offense if a person associated with it, meaning anyone performing services for or on its behalf, gives, offers or agrees to give prohibited gratification to obtain or retain business or a business advantage for it, unless the entity had adequate procedures designed to prevent that conduct.
One thing is still open: section 34A was not added to the Act’s penalty section (section 26). The Judicial Matters Amendment Bill [B8-2025] would add it, but the bill is still before the National Assembly, where Parliament’s Justice Committee last considered it on 23 September 2026 [B8-2025] [PMG]. Section 34A has been in force since 3 April 2024, and enforcement is still developing.
A separate private member’s bill, B19-2026, would set minimum sentences for the main corruption offenses and lower the section 34 reporting threshold for theft, fraud, extortion, forgery and uttering from R100,000 to R30,000. It does not change section 34A, and it is also still before the National Assembly [B19-2026].
FCPA, UK Bribery Act and ISO 37001
A multinational with South African operations can face PRECCA section 34A and the FCPA for the same conduct. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) applies to U.S. persons, issuers of U.S.-listed securities and certain foreign firms that act in furtherance of a corrupt payment within U.S. territory, and U.S.-listed issuers must also keep accurate books and adequate internal accounting controls [FCPA]. Since June 2025, DOJ enforcement guidelines prioritize conduct such as cartel-linked bribery, harm to identifiable U.S. companies and national-security-related corruption [DOJ guidelines]. Prosecutors assess compliance programs against the DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, updated in September 2024 [ECCP].
Section 7 of the UK Bribery Act 2010 makes a commercial organization that carries on a business, or part of a business, in the UK guilty if a person associated with it bribes to win business for it, unless it had adequate procedures to prevent that [UKBA s.7]. ISO 37001 (second edition, 2025) sets requirements and guidance for an anti-bribery management system [ISO].
How AS3 helps
AS3 Compliance Consulting advises on FCPA, anti-corruption and compliance programs. For companies with operations in South Africa that means program assessment and gap analysis, third-party due diligence and oversight, and policies, controls, training and monitoring. Engagements are delivered across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The Anti-Corruption Self-Assessment (FCPA, with ISO 37001 mapping) scores your program across 18 elements. It is available by paid license, and access is provided by code after approval. The buttons below only open a request form.
Compliance guidance, not legal advice. For questions of South African law, consult qualified local counsel.
Sources
- PRECCA, section 34: Duty to report corrupt transactions (Acts Online)
- PRECCA, section 26: Penalties (Acts Online)
- Department of Justice, Factsheet: Judicial Matters Amendment Act 15 of 2023
- Accountability Tracker, PRECCA (status as of September 2026)
- Parliament of South Africa, Judicial Matters Amendment Bill [B8-2025], clause 7
- Parliamentary Monitoring Group, Judicial Matters Amendment Bill [B8-2025]
- Parliament of South Africa, Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Amendment Bill [B19-2026]
- Deputy Minister of Justice, opening statement on the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill [B8-2025], 5 August 2026
- U.S. Department of Justice, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit
- U.S. DOJ, Guidelines for Investigations and Enforcement of the FCPA (June 2025)
- U.S. DOJ, Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (updated September 2024)
- Bribery Act 2010, section 7 (legislation.gov.uk)
- ISO 37001:2025, Anti-bribery management systems
Last reviewed November 2026.