South Africa has officially been removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, marking the end of nearly two years of intensive scrutiny and signalling renewed confidence in the country’s financial integrity and governance.
The decision follows the FATF Plenary meetings held this week in Paris, France, after an on-site evaluation in August.
During that visit, Deputy Finance Minister Dr. David Masondo and Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel reaffirmed government’s political commitment to strengthening anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) systems.
South Africa was placed on the FATF grey list in February 2023 after the global financial crime watchdog identified 22 strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT framework. The listing subjected the country to increased international monitoring and raised concerns about its financial credibility.
On Friday, FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo announced that South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso were removed from the list — the largest single batch of removals in recent years.
“South Africa has sharpened its tools to detect money laundering and terrorist financing,” de Anda Madrazo said. “Ministers from the countries removed, this week emphasized the urgency of addressing illicit financial flows for the benefit of their communities.”
Removal from the FATF grey list is expected to reduce transaction costs, improve the ease of doing business, and boost investor confidence — particularly in the financial and banking sectors.
The development sends a strong signal to global markets that South Africa is rebuilding institutional credibility and reinforcing the rule of law, a key step toward restoring its reputation as a trusted destination for international investment.
Financial markets and the business sector have broadly welcomed the news.
Wichard Cilliers, head of market risk at TreasuryONE, said the decision was “a major positive development for the country’s reputation and financial system.”
“It signals that South Africa has made strong progress in tightening its controls to combat money laundering and terrorist financing,” Cilliers said.
“Being off the grey list should make it easier and cheaper for South African banks and companies to do business internationally, a confidence boost for investors and the rand alike. However, much of this was already priced into the currency.”
The rand reacted modestly to the announcement, firming 0.4% to R17.23/$, 0.3% to R20.05/€, and 0.5% to R22.92/£ by late Friday afternoon. Analysts noted that much of the optimism had already been priced into the currency.
Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) hailed the development as a critical milestone that reflects the “extensive work undertaken by government, regulators, and law enforcement agencies” to strengthen the country’s financial oversight.
“This is an excellent outcome for South Africa,” said Neal Froneman, BACSA chairperson.
“The initiatives underway to tackle crime and corruption are not only crucial for unlocking investment, but also meaningful for the lives of ordinary South Africans. There’s still work to do, but this shows what can be achieved when the public and private sectors work together in the national interest.”
In a statement, the National Treasury said government had worked tirelessly over the past 32 months to address all deficiencies identified by FATF.
Treasury credited the success to strong collaboration between local institutions and international partners, including the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), as well as technical assistance from the EU, UK, USA, Switzerland, and the World Bank.
“South Africa’s progress in addressing AML/CFT deficiencies and exiting the FATF grey list represents a major policy and institutional achievement for the people of South Africa — particularly following the weakening of law enforcement institutions during the state capture era,” Treasury said.
However, Treasury cautioned that the delisting marks the beginning of a longer journey.
“While exiting the grey list is an important milestone, it is only the start of a broader process to continue strengthening key institutions, improving enforcement and governance, and ensuring our systems remain robust in combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.”
The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has also welcomed the decision.
“This milestone brings to an end a difficult but critical chapter in the evolution of South Africa’s regime to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” said the FIC’s Acting Director, Pieter Smit. “We commend the collective efforts by partners in government, the private sector and civil society who help in South Africa’s fight against financial crime.
The FIC contributed significantly to the process in a number of key areas. One of which was building the capability to conduct supervision of compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FIC Act) by designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) in a risk-based manner.
This entailed the development and implementation of tools to gather risk-related information and to analyse the information submitted by institutions.
“The FIC acknowledges and extends its gratitude to the industries and sectors that rallied behind the cause thereby contributing to the broader fight against financial crime,” Smit said.
He said exiting the grey list was half the battle won and one that must continue.
“The FIC will continue to enhance its abilities to contribute to the fight against financial crime,” said Smith.
South Africa has already started the process of preparing for the fifth round of mutual evaluations due to take place between 2026 and 2027.
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