Update on FATF greylisting

Update on FATF greylisting

• 12 March 2024
• Legal and Compliance
• South African Accounting Academy

The report was adopted at last month’s FATF plenary – available at:

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/Fatfgeneral/outcomes-fatf-plenary-february-2024.html

According to Treasury’s statement, 5 of the action items concerned ‘now addressed or largely addressed’ relate to:

• ‘legal provisions criminalising terrorist financing and underpinning South Africa’s targeted financial sanction regimes … (for dealing with) terrorism financing and proliferation financing’
• ‘increasing the use of financial intelligence … to support money laundering investigations’, and
• ‘increasing the resources of anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing supervisors’.

In addition, 2 further action items previously not addressed ‘have now been partly addressed’ – bringing the total of partly addressed outstanding action items to 14 out of 17.

The statement goes into considerably more detail than most mainstream media articles published when it was issued.

Should South Africa be assessed to have largely addressed all 22 Action Items in February 2025, the FATF will schedule an onsite visit in April/May 2025, to confirm that assessment and make a recommendation to the June 2025 FATF plenary.

Access the FATF’s comments on South Africa’s progress at:

https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/publications/High-risk-and-other-monitored-jurisdictions/Increased-monitoring-february-2024.html

Click here to download the Media Statement:

https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/treasury-fatf-greylisting-29-feb-2024

Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:

• FICA is yet another piece of 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 publications and guidance issued by regulators, such as the FATF.
• As an accountable institution, a business owner and individual, you need to be aware of developments in respect of our country’s greylisting.

Relevance to Your clients:

• An accountable institution, as well as an entity (company or close corporation), has a duty to comply with the FICA, otherwise they could be held liable.
• As an accountable institution, a business owner and individual, you need to be aware of developments in respect of our country’s greylisting.

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