General Laws (AML and CTF) Amendment Bill

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General Laws (AML and CTF) Amendment Bill

• 31 July 2026
• Miscellaneous
• South African Accounting Academy

Summary:
The General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Bill (GLAB) (B15-2026) is currently in the public comment phase. 

Article:

It was formally introduced to Parliament and issued on 27 May 27 2026, following the prior notice and explanatory summary published on 17 April 2026.

The bill aims to strengthen South Africa’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing framework by addressing outstanding FATF recommendations.

The GLAB 2026 aims to amend:

• the Close Corporations Act, 1984
• the Non-profit Organisations Act, 1997
• the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001
• the Companies Act, 2008 and
• the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017

Comments on the GLAB are due by 10 August 2026. 

In summary, the Bill seeks to strengthen the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT) system by addressing the remaining deficiencies identified in the 2021 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Mutual Evaluation Report for South Africa, and also during the remedial process that culminated in South Africa exiting the FATF greylist in October 2025. The amendments also seek to secure a better rating for South Africa for the current FATF Mutual Evaluation, which concludes in October 2027.

Click here to download the document:

https://static.pmg.org.za/B15-2026_General_Laws_Anti-Money_Laundering_AB.pdf

Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:

• AML legislation, like the GLAB (including FICA) is very important legislation that your clients must comply with, and which you must assess compliance with.  If they don’t comply with the relevant laws and regulations, you have certain reporting obligations in terms of NOCLAR (NOn-Compliance with Laws And Regulations) – this could include reporting to management, qualifying your audit opinion, reporting a Reportable Irregularity, etc.
• Auditors, Independent Reviewers and Accountants should be aware of the latest amendment bills on Anti-Money Laundering and the Combating of the Financing of Terrorism.
• An awareness of publications issued by regulators, such as the FIC, is vital to remain informed.

Relevance to Your clients:

• An accountable institution, as well as an entity (company or close corporation), has a duty to comply with anti-money laundering laws and regulations, otherwise they could be held liable.
• Accountable institutions should be aware of the latest amendment bills on Anti-Money Laundering and the Combating of the Financing of Terrorism.
• An awareness of publications issued by regulators, such as the FIC, is vital to remain informed.

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