Financial Action Task Force Concludes On-Site Assessment in South Africa

Pretoria: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Africa Joint Group has concluded an on-site assessment visit to South Africa, which was aimed at verifying the implementation of reforms to address money laundering and the financing of terrorism. According to South African Government News Agency, the on-site assessment took place on Tuesday and Wednesday in Pretoria, completing the last step before the October 2025 FATF Plenary can consider whether to remove South Africa from its greylist. The FATF Joint Group held meetings with South African government officials and representatives of financial institutions and Designated Non-Bank Financial Institutions. National Treasury stated on Thursday that at the conclusion of the meetings, the FATF Africa Joint Group held a meeting with Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. David Masondo, and Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Andries Nel. Both assured the FATF of the South African government's political commitment to continue to sustainably improve the country's Anti-Money Laundering and the Combating of the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system. The on-site visit followed the announcement by the June 2025 FATF Plenary that South Africa had substantially completed all the 22 action items that were contained in the Action Plan, which was adopted when South Africa was greylisted in February 2023. Following the completion of these action items, the June 2025 FATF Plenary noted that South Africa's progress warranted an on-site assessment to verify that critical AML/CFT reforms have been implemented and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain progress. After the conclusion of the on-site visit, the FATF Africa Joint Group will submit a report to the October 2025 FATF Plenary, which will consider any recommendations from the report on whether South Africa can be delisted from the FATF greylist. Deputy Ministers Masondo and Nel thanked the FATF Africa Joint Group for its collegial working relationship with the South African gove rnment delegation since the country's greylisting in February 2023. They further assured the FATF Africa Joint Group that the South African government will continue actively partnering with the FATF Global network in preserving and advancing the integrity of the South African and global financial systems. Treasury will not be issuing further media statements or conducting interviews until the FATF Plenary concludes its next Plenary Meeting on 24 October 2025 and issues its post-plenary outcomes media statement.