Debated in Parliament on 1 Mar 2024.
Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (a) in the last three years, what is the number of cases where disqualified Filing Agents and individuals with cancelled Qualified Individuals status under ACRA's regulations continue to operate under different entities; and (b) what are the monitoring actions put in place by ACRA to prevent such incidents from occurring.
Registered Filing Agents (RFAs) are professional services firms that transact with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) on behalf of their clients. RFAs are also responsible to conduct customer due diligence, to ensure the activities are consistent with the clients' business and risk profile. ACRA requires an RFA to appoint a Registered Qualified Individual (RQI), who is principally responsible for ensuring that the RFA complies with ACRA's regulations.
Once disqualified, an RFA or RQI will have its registration terminated and will also be barred from registration for a minimum of two years. Any application for registration thereafter will be examined carefully, to ensure that the individual or the firm and individuals running the firm meet all requisites for registration, including the fulfilment of fit and proper requirements.
In the last three years, ACRA has cancelled the registrations of 11 RFAs and 11 RQIs and none of them are currently operating as RFAs or RQIs.
An individual whose RQI licence has been cancelled is not disallowed from finding employment with another firm that is an RFA. However, the firm and the RQI for the firm will be responsible for ensuring that the individual fulfils the fit and proper requirements and that any transaction with ACRA carried out by the individual is supervised by the RQI.
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