South Africa progresses in financial crime crackdown

JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — South Africa has made significant progress in combating financial crimes, potentially paving the way for the country’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s grey list, a government official said on Thursday.
“There has been significant progress in South Africa’s efforts to address technical compliance deficiencies,” said Maropene Ramokgopa, acting minister in the Presidency. She said that the country has fully addressed 15 out of 20 technical compliance requirements.
South Africa was grey-listed by the FATF in February 2023 due to issues related to combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Ramokgopa said that the Cabinet is aware of the complexities of the identified issues and is committed to intensifying efforts to address the remaining actions.
“For South Africa to completely exit the grey list, 22 actions were identified as deficiencies in effectiveness. Of these, eight have been fully addressed, leaving 14 to be resolved by February 2025,” Ramokgopa added.
The FATF, an international money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, conducted an audit in 2019, followed by a mutual evaluation report issued in October 2021. South Africa was then placed under increased monitoring and was asked to address identified gaps within an agreed timeframe. ■