The decision to delist South Africa was taken at the conclusion of meetings of the FATF Plenary that took place over 22-24 October 2025 in Paris, France.

After South Africa was listed on the FATF greylist in February 2023, government 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 FATF is an intergovernmental organisation and finance watchdog that was established to combat money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing, as well as other threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

It sets global standards for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, promotes the effective implementation of these standards, and conducts mutual evaluations of member countries to assess their compliance with the FATF Recommendations.

“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,” National Treasury said on Friday.

This concluded with a meeting with Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr David Masondo, and Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Andries Nel, who 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.

“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.

“However, while exiting the greylist is an important milestone and a demonstration of South Africa’s commitment to rebuilding the rule of law, it is only start of a broader process to continue to strengthen key institutions, improve enforcement and governance processes, and ensure that such improvements are sustainable and that our systems become increasingly effective in combating money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing.

“Neither government agencies nor regulated entities in the private sector can afford to become complacent and stop improving. Instead, through public-private collaboration, they must continue to strengthen the AML/CFT system,” National Treasury emphasised.

The FATF requires countries that have exited the greylist to demonstrate continued commitment through measurable outcomes, including successful investigations, prosecutions, and sanctions as they relate to AML/CFT.

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.

“To prevent being placed back on the greylist, it is important that systems of monitoring and enforcement work more efficiently and effectively, and that there are no gaps, by the time of the Mutual Evaluation. Preparations, in this regard, have already begun and we remain confident that South Africa will be able to sustain the progress made,” National Treasury said.

The department has congratulated Nigeria, Mozambique and Burkina Faso, which were also delisted from the FATF greylist.

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This follows an announcement by the FATF on Friday, in which it upgraded four of the six outstanding action items at the conclusion of its latest plenary meetings in Paris, France.

The FATF is the international standard-setting body that oversees global compliance with anti-money laundering rules.

The FATF grey list refers to the FATF’s practice of publicly identifying countries with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies.
The FATF maintains two such lists with one being jurisdictions under “increased monitoring” that are actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes” and secondly “high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action” that are not actively engaging with the FATF to address these deficiencies.

South Africa was grey listed by the FATF in February 2023 for not complying with international standards that relate to money laundering and addressing illicit financial flows.

According to the National Treasury, South Africa has now addressed or largely addressed 20 out of the 22 action items outlined in its Action Plan. The two remaining items are expected to be addressed in the reporting period from March 2025 to June 2025.

“This would enable South Africa to be considered for delisting from the FATF grey list in October 2025,” National treasury said in a statement.

The FATF Plenary adopted the report and recommendations of the Africa Joint Group on 21 February 2025 and noted South Africa’s progress in its public statement: “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring – 21 February 2025” (FATF Update on grey-listed countries February 2025).

The National Treasury commended the collaborative efforts of financial and non-financial regulators, beneficial ownership registries, and law enforcement agencies in securing the upgrade of the four action items.

“National Treasury welcomes the efforts of financial and non-financial regulators and beneficial ownership registries and its law enforcement users, in securing upgrades for the four action items they were directly responsible for in the current reporting cycle.

“Treasury also notes the ongoing efforts by all the law enforcement agencies to demonstrate the significant progress in respect of the two action items not yet upgraded, relating to the investigation and prosecution of serious and complex money laundering and of terrorist financing,” Treasury said.

The FATF statement issued after its Plenary states the following in relation to South Africa:

“Since February 2023, when South Africa made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and ESAAMLG to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime, South Africa has taken steps towards improving its AML/CFT regime including by demonstrating that all supervisors apply effective, proportionate, and effective sanctions, ensuring competent authorities have timely access to accurate and up to date BO information on legal persons and arrangements and applying sanctions for breaches of violation by legal persons to beneficial ownership obligations.

“South Africa should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its remaining strategic deficiency on demonstrating a sustained increase in investigations and prosecutions of serious and complex money laundering and the full range of TF activities in line with its risk profile,” said the FATF.

“The decision by the FATF Plenary to extend the reporting cycle for the two action items on investigations and prosecutions for serious and complex money laundering and terror financing activities reflects the fact that these are the most demanding goals of every country’s systems for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, particularly since they require a country to demonstrate that the improvements made are sustained over successive reporting periods,” Treasury explained.

Treasury emphasised that South Africa continues to address both outstanding action items by June 2025 to enable an exit from grey listing by October 2025.

“Our investigation and prosecution teams are working closely in terms of a prosecution-guided investigation strategy to ensure that we demonstrate the sustained progress as required by FATF. These improvements are critical not just for getting off the grey list, but, critically, for strengthening the fight against crime and corruption,” Treasury said.

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“From the 2025 Medium‐Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period onwards, funding will be reprioritised within the function to departments and entities to establish a shared forensic capability within the Financial Intelligence Centre,” National Treasury’s document on the 2024 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) said.

This will strengthen efforts to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and secure South Africa’s removal from the grey list.

Tabling the MTBPS in Parliament on Wednesday, Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana noted that South Africa recently received a positive review from the FATF.

South Africa is now deemed to have largely addressed 16 of the 22 action items in its Action Plan to exit the grey list.

“This is a remarkable achievement, brought about by the unprecedented cooperation between state departments, as well as with civil society.

“FATF lauded South Africa for improving how it dealt with issues of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. This leaves us with only six outstanding action items to be addressed for the last scheduled reporting cycle in February 2025,” the Minister said.

The FATF is the international standard-setting body that oversees global compliance with anti-money laundering rules.

The FATF grey list refers to the FATF’s practice of publicly identifying countries with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies. The FATF maintains two such lists with one being jurisdictions under “increased monitoring” that are actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes” and secondly “high-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action” that are not actively engaging with the FATF to address these deficiencies.

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These saw the country greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) last year and presented with a list of action items to be complied with before it is pronounced “clean”.

A National Treasury (NT) statement issued this week post an update from last month’s FATF plenary in Singapore, has it South Africa by way of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s NT, “does not expect South Africa to exit greylisting before June 2025, as per the action plan deadlines”.

The FATF plenary, the statement has it, did not discuss delisting South Africa from greylisting, focusing instead on progress made in addressing 17 outstanding action items.

“The FATF Plenary accepted the report of the FATF Africa/Middle East Joint Group that South Africa has largely addressed three further action items and hence has 14 outstanding items left to address, from the original 22.

“When the FATF greylisted South Africa at its February 2023 plenary meetings, it adopted a jointly agreed action plan containing 22 action items linked to eight strategic deficiencies identified in the country’s anti-money laundering and combating of financing terrorism (AML/CFT) regime. South Africa is required to address all 22 action items to exit the FATF greylist. The action items have differing deadlines, between January 2024 and January 2025.

“The January 2025 deadline serves as a general guide on the earliest time that South Africa can be expected to have addressed all action items in the action plan,” two years after placement of a country on the FATF greylist. When all action items have been addressed, the country is required to confirm its progress by way of an onsite visit by the FATF joint group.

This, NT has it, could see the FATF joint group in South Africa in April/May next year. If the assessment that all action items have been properly dealt with is confirmed a recommendation to remove the country from the greylist will go to the February 2025 FTF plenary. If any action items remain unaddressed by the January 2025 deadline, South Africa has to continue reporting to the FATF every four months until all deficiencies are addressed.

At the June meetings, the FATF plenary adopted a report by the FATF joint group for Africa/Middle East, confirming eight of 22 action items are addressed or largely addressed in accordance with specified deadlines. The items addressed relate to legal provisions criminalising terrorist financing and underpinning South Africa’s targeted financial sanction regimes.

South Africa is left with two reporting cycles in September and January next year in terms of the action plan. “Many” of 14 outstanding items are due in the last two reporting cycles “because South Africa has to demonstrate improvements made are sustained over successive reporting periods” the statement reads further.

“NT notes that whilst South Africa is on track to address all the outstanding action items, it remains a tough challenge to address all 14 the remaining action items by February 2025.

“All relevant agencies and authorities will need to continue to demonstrate significant improvements and also those improvements are sustained and are effective. The Minister of Finance has been leading a process within government to ensure that South Africa addresses all Action Items by February 2025, to enable South Africa to exit greylisting by June 2025,” according to the statement.

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