The government has assured the Financial Action Task Force of its commitment to continue improving SA’s legislative regime to combat money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Such commitment is one of the criteria used by the global intergovernmental organisation in assessing whether a country be removed from its greylist.
The FATF was established in 1989 and sets standards for combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and monitors compliance.
It placed SA on its greylist in February 2023 because of deficiencies, including a lack of legislation to identify beneficial ownership and the failure to prosecute high-profile corruption and money-laundering cases.
Deputy finance minister David Masondo and deputy justice & constitutional development minister Andries Nel assured an FATF delegation of the government’s commitment to stepping up its fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism at the conclusion of an on-site visit this week.
The Africa Joint Group will submit a report to the FATF plenary in October, which will consider any recommendations from the report on whether SA can be removed from the greylist.
That is considered likely as the June plenary noted the progress SA has made in meeting FATF requirements and that it had substantially completed all 22 recommendations contained in a plan of action adopted when SA was greylisted.
FATF decided at its June plenary that the progress made warranted an on-site assessment to verify that critical anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism reforms had been implemented. It also wanted to assess the necessary political commitment to sustain the progress made.
The FATF delegation met government officials and representatives of financial institutions and designated nonbank financial institutions.
The National Treasury said in a statement on Thursday the two deputy ministers had assured the Africa Joint Group the government would continue partnering with FATF in preserving and advancing the integrity of the SA and global financial systems.
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