SA stands out among 24 countries as the leader in real estate data collection and regulation.
This ticks an important box in the country’s efforts to break free from greylist shackles that heighten the costs and scrutiny of banks and taint its image as a secure financial hub.
Analysis by Transparency International and the Anti-Corruption Data Collective tracks transparency issues and money-laundering risks in global real estate markets. It also highlights the vulnerabilities in 24 countries that allow illicit financial activities to thrive.
SA was listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — a global body that sets standards for combating money-laundering and the financing of terrorist regimes — in 2023 because of lax anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism measures. This jacks up the cost of raising finance for businesses and putting banks under sharper scrutiny when dealing with global institutions.
The first opacity in real estate ownership index released by the Anti-Corruption Data Collective shows that even though the SA government collects broad data on real estate transactions and regulates the sector for money-laundering, gaps remain.
These include “a burdensome process for accessing real estate data, which is also not available to foreign citizens, putting the brakes on follow-the-money investigations”.
“Some of the anti-money-laundering rules are fairly recent and were adopted following SA’s designation to the FATF’s so-called greylist of countries with strategic deficiencies in their frameworks. The practical implementation and effectiveness of these measures remain to be seen,” the Anti-Corruption Data Collective said.
Though SA has made significant progress in addressing FATF’s concerns in order for its grey list status to be removed by October, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) previously flagged estate agencies’ failure to timeously file risk and compliance returns (RCRs) as a threat to SA’s exit.
The returns are required by the watchdog to ready the country to exit the greylist. The real estate sector has historically been a high-risk one due to the potential for concealing illicit funds in property transactions.
SA still has to show improvement in law enforcement and prosecution.
Maira Martini, CEO of Transparency International, said that while progress has been slow, the opacity in real estate ownership index also shows that international anti-money-laundering standards can have an impact.
“We urge standard-setter bodies such as the FATF and global forums such as the G20 to develop new policies and guidelines to help countries address remaining loopholes,” she said.
The index assesses 24 jurisdictions on real estate data scope and anti-money-laundering legal frameworks. In some countries real estate transactions can be conducted in cash, making it difficult for authorities to track them.
The Anti-Corruption Data Collective said Australia, South Korea and the US are among the worst-performing countries, largely due to their lack of anti-money-laundering regulation for professionals involved in real estate transactions.
Australia recently passed legislation extending anti-money-laundering obligations to real estate professionals, but this will come into force in July 2026, it said.
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