South Africa has been grey listed for not stopping money laundering and terrorism funding. What it means

THE Financial Action Task Force has placed South Africa on a list of countries under increased monitoring, commonly known as the grey list, after it failed to address all of the shortcomings on money laundering and the financing of terrorism that the task force identified in its 2019 evaluation of the country. The decision has serious implications for the country, more specifically its financial services sector as well as its ability to attract investment. The Conversation Africa’s political editor Thabo Leshilo talks to Philippe Burger, an economics professor and the dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Free State, about what the grey listing means for South Africa.

What does grey listing mean?

Grey listing refers to a country being placed on a list of countries under increased monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.

The FATF evaluates each member country’s implementation and effectiveness of measures to combat money