South Africa has officially exited the Financial Action Task Force FATF greylist after successfully implementing key reforms to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
The decision to delist South Africa was taken at the conclusion of meetings of the FATF Plenary that took place over 22-24 October 2025 in Paris, France.
After South Africa was listed on the FATF greylist in February 2023, government worked tirelessly to address all the deficiencies that were identified by the FATF and which were reflected in the 22 Action Items in the Action Plan agreed between South Africa and the FATF.
The FATF is an intergovernmental organisation and finance watchdog that was established to combat money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing, as well as other threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
It sets global standards for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing, promotes the effective implementation of these standards, and conducts mutual evaluations of member countries to assess their compliance with the FATF Recommendations.
"Over the past 32 months, South Africa has engaged with a team of reviewers assigned by the FATF to assess progress against the Action Plan. This culminated in an on-site visit at the end of July 2025, when the assessors came to the country to confirm the sustainability of the reforms that had been reported to them," National Treasury said on Friday.