Countdown to greylist removal: Is South Africa ready for its FATF judgment day?

IN JUNE this year, the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) Strasbourg Plenary deemed South Africa successful in "substantially completing" its 22-item Action Plan for removal from the FATF greylist.

- BRADLEY ELLIOTT

This has set the stage for an authorised onsite visit in October when FATF will determine whether South Africa can finally be scrubbed from the greylist.

Despite the considerable progress we have made, this is “not a time for complacency”, as the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has cautioned. FATF will not be satisfied by a box-checking exercise and will expect to see signs of sustainable improvement in South Africa's compliance culture. All stakeholders in the financial system face a huge task to surmount this hurdle of delisting.

The onsite assessment: a key milestone in the journey towards greylist removal

FATF's onsite assessment will evaluate the progress South Africa has made in implementing anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) measures since it was greylisted in February 2023.

In line with FATF practices, the global AML/CTF watchdog will determine the nation’s effectiveness and technical compliance ratings across its 11 Immediate Outcomes (IOs).

The onsite visit is only one stage of the FATF investigation, which also includes pre-visit assessments and a post-site review.

During the onsite visit, FATF will interview stakeholders such as the National Treasury, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the Financial Intelligence Centre, SARB, banks, legal firms, not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) and estate agents.