The FIC is making life difficult for criminals

The annual report of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) provides a valuable update on the efforts of financial authorities and businesses to strengthen oversight of financial transactions and eventually remove South Africa from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist.

- Adriaan Kruger

Being on the list indicates that SA's regulatory structures are not strong enough to prevent money laundering or the financing of terrorist groups.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana notes in the annual report that when the FATF placed SA on the greylist in February 2023, it posed questions about the ability of government, civil society and the private sector to safeguard the economy against exploitation by criminal elements.

"During the last financial year, pivotal milestones were attained to help bring the greylisting chapter to conclusion," he says.

"In June, the FATF announced SA had substantially completed all 22 action plan items which had been adopted when it was grey-listed in 2023. The FATF will verify that the actions mentioned have indeed been taken, and once verified, exiting the grey list becomes a real possibility," says Godongwana in the report.

The FIC reports its assisted in recovering R144 million in the proceeds of criminal activity and blocked another R158 million as suspected proceeds of crime.