South Africa risks returning to FATF grey list
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Businessday
Illustrative image · Mikhail Nilov · Pexels · Licence PexelsSouth Africa risks returning to the Financial Action Task Force grey list after scoring 51.2 for its anti-corruption reforms. The prospect could increase scrutiny of banking, international payments and trade finance, while progress remains stalled, according to Business Leadership South Africa.
South Africa risks returning to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, barely a year after leaving it, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), a business organisation, warned on Wednesday in its quarterly assessment. The country could face tighter controls on its financial transactions, higher compliance costs and the withdrawal of some international banks from their correspondent banking relationships, according to BLSA, quoted by Businessday.
The score for anti-corruption reforms remained unchanged at 51.2 in the third quarter, compared with 72.5 for all reforms, and no anti-corruption target improved. Stuart Theobald, executive chairman of research firm Krutham, which compiles BLSA’s monitoring, said the risk of returning to the grey list was “significant”.
South Africa is currently undergoing a new mutual evaluation by the FATF. The review is due to continue until October 2027, with a peer review scheduled for the first quarter of that year, notably to check whether the country has maintained the increase in investigations and prosecutions of money-laundering networks achieved before it left the list in October 2025.
BLSA highlighted persistent weaknesses in the services responsible for investigating organised crime, bringing prosecutions to completion and recovering criminal assets. Its director-general, Busi Mavuso, called for efforts not to be relaxed, while Ismail Momoniat, an adviser to the National Treasury who led the campaign to leave the grey list, also pointed to the weakness of anti-corruption reforms.
