By Thebe Mabanga
South Africa has formally been taken off the Financial Action Task Force greylist, known as the list of “jurisdictions under increased under increased monitoring,” after almost three years on the list following and FATF Plenary meeting in Paris, France.
Nigeria, Mozambique and Burkina Faso were also removed off the grey list while FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo called the removal of the four countries “a positive story for the continent of Africa”.
“Following the listing of South Africa on the FATF greylist in February 2023, Government has worked tirelessly to address all the deficiencies that were identified by the FATF and which were reflected in the 22 Action Items in the Action Plan agreed between South Africa and the FATF.”
The process entailed passing two key pieces of legislation in record time in the latter part of 2023.
Treasury says that over the past 32 months, South Africa has engaged with a team of reviewers assigned by the FATF to assess progress against the Action Plan.
“This culminated in an on-site visit at the end of July 2025, when the assessors came to the country to confirm the sustainability of the reforms that had been reported to them.” says Treasury.
The process was led from South Africa’s side by Deputy Minister Dr David Masondo and Deputy Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Andries Nel, both of whom “assured the FATF of the South African Government’s political commitment to continue to sustainably improving the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and the Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system.” the statement read.
Apart from the FATF, Treasury acknowledged a range of local and international players, including government departments and agencies, banks and other regulated entities, as well as technical assistance from the European Union, The United Sates, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the World Bank for technical support.
“National Treasury would also like to congratulate Nigeria, Mozambique and Burkina Faso, which were also delisted from the FATF greylist this week,” the finance ministry noted, adding “South Africa’s progress in addressing the AML/CFT deficiencies and exiting the FATF greylist represents a major policy and institutional achievement for the people of South Africa, particularly following the weakening of key law enforcement and other institutions during the state capture era. “
Raymond Parsons, an economist at the North West University Business School, said: “This is good news for the SA economy and is a confidence-building factor at a critical time in our business cycle.
While the markets will have already priced in the prospect that the FATF would make the decision, it nonetheless marks SA crossing a key threshold in financial reform.”
Parsons says the removal will reduce policy uncertainty, which his institution measures through the Policy Uncertainty Index (PUI) and is currently in negative territory, indicating low uncertainty.
Parsons also notes that the action will help improve investor confidence and reduce the costs associated with international financial transactions.
“By complying with global standards, it also demonstrates the progress that SA has made in dealing with money laundering and terror financing, “says Parsons.
“It signals that, if the necessary effort and political will is effectively mobilised behind a key reform, it is possible to achieve positive outcomes quite rapidly.”
Treasury urged all role players to guard against complacency and maintain tight controls to avoid being placed back on the greylist, pointing out that success will ultimately be measured through successful investigation, prosecution, and conviction of money laundering and other financial crimes.
A formal monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure that countries do not slide. “These actions will form the basis of the next FATF Mutual Evaluation for South Africa, which is expected to commence in the first half of 2026 and conclude in October 2027,” Treasury said.
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