EXPLAINER | What does South Africa's greylisting mean?

In February, South Africa was added to the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “greylist,” meaning the country comes under greater monitoring for actions against money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.

The FATF cited state capture, money laundering risks, law enforcement and judicial capacity as some of the key areas needing attention.

Analysts have warned that the country’s greylisting could result in downgrades by credit ratings agencies.

At his Question-and-Answer session in the National Assembly this Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed concern at the country’s greylisting. He added though, that he was optimistic that the National Treasury’s efforts to address the deficiencies raised by the FATF would result in South Africa’s removal from the greylist.

South Africa has been given a year to report on the demonstrated progress it has made to achieve the recommendations set out in the FATF’s 2021 Report.