Pretoria: The National Treasury has welcomed the removal of South Africa from the European Union's list of High-risk Third Country Jurisdictions (EU List). This significant development follows South Africa's delisting from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist and the United Kingdom's list of high-risk countries for money laundering and terror financing, both of which occurred on 13 October 2025.
According to South African Government News Agency, the National Treasury emphasized that while the removal from the FATF and EU lists is a positive step, it does not signify the complete resolution of challenges in implementing the country's Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system. The National Treasury acknowledged the need for continued efforts to address deficiencies in preventing, identifying, investigating, and prosecuting money laundering and terrorism financing.
The European Union recognized the progress made by South Africa, along with five other African countries, in strengthening their AML/CFT systems. The EU noted that Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania have improved the effectiveness of their AML/CFT regimes and addressed technical deficiencies as per the strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF. Consequently, these countries no longer have strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT systems.
South Africa's addition to the EU List in August 2023 was an automatic consequence of its greylisting by the FATF in February 2023. The EU List, in accordance with Article 9(1) of Directive (EU) 2015/849, identifies third-country jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in their systems for combating money laundering and terrorism financing to protect the EU's internal market.
The removal from the EU's high-risk list alleviates some of the friction previously affecting financial transactions and flows involving South Africa, including trade, payments, and investment. However, the National Treasury clarified that while EU financial institutions are no longer legally bound to conduct enhanced due diligence on South African-related transactions, they may still choose to maintain their risk assessment policies towards the country as deemed appropriate.
Looking ahead, South Africa is set to undergo a new round of evaluation by FATF in the coming months, with a final report expected to be presented to the FATF plenary in October 2027.