South African efforts to curb money laundering and financial assistance to terror organisations is progressing with the country having just six outstanding action items that need addressing for the reporting cycle that ends in February.
The original Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list was 22 with this month’s (October’s) FATF plenary meetings in Paris accepting the FATF Africa Joint Group South Africa progress report, a National Treasury (NT) statement has it.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s National Treasury notes it’s “pleased” quoting from an official FATF statement. The relevant extract reads: “South Africa has taken steps towards improving its AML (anti-money laundering)/CFT (countering financing terrorism) regime including by demonstrating a sustained increase in outbound money laundering requests, strengthening its AML/CFT supervisory capacity by improving risk-based supervision of DNFBPs (designated non-financial businesses and professions), enhancing its identification, seizure and confiscation of proceeds and instrumentalities of a wider range of predicate crimes, in line with its risk profile, the update and implementation of its TF (terrorist financing) strategy and increasing relevant authorities TF capabilities on the basis of an understanding of its TF risks, as well as ensuring the effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions”.
Three of the remaining six action items relate to demonstrating a sustained increase in the investigation and prosecution of complex money laundering, terror financing and unlicensed cross-border money or value transfer services (MVTS). The other three relate to timely access of beneficial ownership information in respect of companies and trusts and imposition of remedial action and dissuasive sanctions by designated AML/CFT supervisors.
If South Africa is successful in addressing the remaining action items in the next reporting cycle the February 2025 FATF plenary will authorise an onsite visit by the FATF Africa Joint Group to confirm assessment on progress of all action items. This would happen around May 2025, NT maintains, adding if the onsite assessment is positive, the FATF Africa Joint Group will recommend to the June 2025 FATF plenary South Africa is delisted from the FATF grey list.
If the FATF Africa Joint Group assesses South Africa has not adequately addressed all remaining action items in February 2025, South Africa will be required to continue reporting back to the Africa group every quarter until all action items are addressed. “Hence the exit from greylisting will be moved from June 2025 to October 2025, or later.”
