South Africa, by way of the country’s National Treasury headed by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, is en route to having its Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylisting removed.
An action plan in the wake of the country’s downgrading as regards lacking anti-money laundering and combatting financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures in February 2023 has progressed to the point where all 22 FATF action items are “substantially completed”, an NT statement has it.
A recent FATF plenary in Strasbourg, France, noted South Africa’s progress warrants an on-site assessment to verify critical AML/CFT reforms have been implemented and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain progress. A FATF statement issued post the June plenary has it, among others, South African reforms include demonstrating a sustained increase in investigations and prosecutions of serious and complex money laundering and the full range of terror financing (TF) activities in line with its risk profile; as well as updating its TF risk assessment to inform “implementation of a comprehensive national counter financing of terrorism strategy”.
Improvements to South Africa’s AML/CFT regime, the NT statement reads in part, “are particularly important for South Africa, given the legacy of State Capture, one element of which was that law enforcement and prosecuting institutions were deliberately weakened. Improvements in these domains are critical not just for getting off the greylist, but for strengthening the fight against crime and corruption and for contributing to the integrity of the South African financial system. Exiting the FATF greylist is a significant step forward as South Africa continues to improve and strengthen its supervisory and criminal justice systems”.
Completion of the NT action plan opens the way for a final step before the FATF can delist South Africa. This will be an on-site visit to South Africa by the FATF Africa Joint Group. The visit will see the JG will confirm the country’s ongoing commitment in implementing a national fight against money laundering, terror financing and other financial crimes. The visit is apparently planned to take place before the October FATF plenary and – if the outcome is positive – South Africa exit the greylist.
