Category: MIL-OSI

Source: Government of South Africa

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner, Edward Kieswetter, has welcomed the decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to delist South Africa from its grey list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. 

“This is a significant moment for our country and a testament to the whole of government approach and its institutions to restore the integrity of our financial system,” the Commissioner said on Friday.

The decision to delist South Africa was taken at the conclusion of meetings of the FATF Plenary, which took place over 22-24 October 2025 in Paris, France.

“While the FATF’s initial grey-listing in February 2023 was a consequence of systemic weaknesses aggravated during the era of state capture, SARS is acutely aware that it, along with other key institutions, was impacted and must continue to play a crucial role in preventing any future regression.

“We recognise that removing the designation of grey listing is not a finish line but a milestone on a long-term journey toward building a robust and resilient financial ecosystem,” he said.

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.

“This delisting is a vote of confidence in South Africa’s progress, but it is not an end to our vigilance. The fight against financial crime and corruption is a continuous one. 

“SARS remains committed to upholding the highest standards of financial integrity and, as we approach the new round of FATF review commencing in the latter part of 2026, SARS will work relentlessly to ensure that we do what is required to combat the illicit economy. 

“By doing so, we will not only maintain our standing with FATF but, more importantly, continue to build public trust and confidence in our financial system, and create a stronger, more prosperous South Africa for all,” Kieswetter said.

SARS supported the national efforts to meet the 22 action items required by the FATF. 

These efforts include the following areas: 

• In partnership with other law enforcement agencies, SARS has strengthened its financial intelligence-gathering capabilities and increased investigations and asset preservation/recovery in relation to tax and customs crime matters involving complex money laundering and terror financing schemes.
• SARS has introduced beneficial ownership reporting obligations for legal persons and trusts as well as collaborated closely with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and the Master of the High Court (MOHC) to improve access to accurate and up-to-date beneficial ownership information for legal persons and trust.
• The Tax Administration Act was amended in 2023 to enable information exchange with CIPC, MOHC and the Department of Social Development (DSD) further supporting the national beneficial ownership information framework.
• The development and piloting of a digital traveller declaration system for cash and bearer negotiable instruments (BNIs) on entry and exit at all borders. This system enables the sharing of information with the FIC and is expected to become mandatory by the end of 2025.
• SARS provided training to its officials as well as other law enforcement officials on money laundering, beneficial ownership, legal gateways for information exchange and the application of mutual legal assistance.

SARS’s focus will now shift to embedding these improvements permanently and sustainably into its operations. This means continuing to:

• Make it clear and easy for taxpayers to comply with their obligations to pay tax.
• Enforce tax and customs laws decisively and fairly without fear, favour, or bias.
• Cooperate effectively with domestic and international partners in combatting the illicit economy.
• Utilise sophisticated data and business intelligence to understand and counter illicit financial flows. –SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

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.

This concluded with a meeting with Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr David Masondo, and Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Andries Nel, who assured the FATF of the South African Government’s political commitment to continue to sustainably improving the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and the Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) system.

“South Africa’s progress in addressing the AML/CFT deficiencies and exiting the FATF greylist represents a major policy and institutional achievement for the people of South Africa, particularly following the weakening of key law enforcement and other institutions during the state capture era. 

“However, while exiting the greylist is an important milestone and a demonstration of South Africa’s commitment to rebuilding the rule of law, it is only start of a broader process to continue to strengthen key institutions, improve enforcement and governance processes, and ensure that such improvements are sustainable and that our systems become increasingly effective in combating money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing. 

“Neither government agencies nor regulated entities in the private sector can afford to become complacent and stop improving. Instead, through public-private collaboration, they must continue to strengthen the AML/CFT system,” National Treasury emphasised.

The FATF requires countries that have exited the greylist to demonstrate continued commitment through measurable outcomes, including successful investigations, prosecutions, and sanctions as they relate to AML/CFT.

These actions will form the basis of the next FATF Mutual Evaluation for South Africa, which is expected to commence in the first half of 2026 and conclude in October 2027.

“To prevent being placed back on the greylist, it is important that systems of monitoring and enforcement work more efficiently and effectively, and that there are no gaps, by the time of the Mutual Evaluation. Preparations, in this regard, have already begun and we remain confident that South Africa will be able to sustain the progress made,” National Treasury said.

The department has congratulated Nigeria, Mozambique and Burkina Faso, which were also delisted from the FATF greylist this week. –SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

By Neo Bodumela

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Government of National Unity (GNU) is committed to fostering economic growth, tackling unemployment and poverty and dealing with corruption in South Africa.

This according to President Cyril Ramaphosa who participated in a fireside discussion at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business and Investment Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The President said South Africa’s democratic election processes in 2024 resulted in the formation of the GNU – adding that the GNU is “working extremely well”, despite coming from differing political homes.

“As the [GNU] we identified three priorities that we wanted to work on. The first one is to engender economic growth and to create jobs. With 32% unemployed people in our country, we are having a serious challenge. So, we felt…to engender economic growth and to create jobs as the first priority. 

“Our second priority was to address poverty. Poverty is still rife in our country, and it really emanates from our…colonial past and our apartheid past which in many ways engineered that there should be continued poverty, and we felt as the [GNU] that we should address this in a pointed way and to reduce the cost of living.

“The third priority we identified was to create and ensure that we have a capable, ethical and developmental state. We are trying to enforce that and enhance that in the various levels of our government,” President Ramaphosa said.

Pressing further, the President explained that government has embarked on a reform agenda in various areas to set the tone for economic growth.

“More broadly…we’ve embarked on a number of initiatives and interventions that are seeking to reposition the economy of our country as we reform our logistics, our ports, our roads [and] our electricity.

“We are also focusing on infrastructure build. We are now…investing well over a trillion Rand…in infrastructure. We are also focusing on improving local government where our people live and where investments live. The reforms that we are instituting are paying great dividends,” he said.

Combatting and rooting our corruption is also receiving intense focus from government.

“Corruption is rife not only in government but also in the private sector and we are dealing with that criminality and enforcing the rule of law.

“So, all the important indicators are being put in place, and they are being well aligned and addressed,” President Ramaphosa said. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

By Neo Bodumela

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – President Cyril Ramaphosa has reaffirmed South Africa as a suitable investment destination – underscoring government’s continued efforts to cut red tape and ongoing structural reforms as tangible efforts to fostering a more business-friendly climate.

The President participated in a fireside discussion at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business and Investment Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday.

The business and investment summit was held on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit and the East Asian Summit.

“We’ve found a number of countries and companies being very interested in investing in South Africa because we are, without any doubt, the gateway into Africa.

“We are the most industrialised country on the African continent, the largest economy, and we’ve got one of the best financial systems. So, we’ve got very key elements in place to make South Africa even more successful than what it is,” President Ramaphosa asserted.

Reforms to improve business climate

He highlighted some of the concrete steps South Africa is taking to create a conducive climate for investment.

“We’re getting rid of bureaucracy on an ongoing basis and dealing with our visa process so that those who want to come to South Africa to bring their talent, can come with greater ease. 

“We are also ensuring that our education levels keep rising so that those who want to invest can have skilled workers.

“Our State-Owned Enterprises are…being reformed so we are on a good path going forward and rebuilding South Africa and delivering a South Africa that many countries can deal with,” President Ramaphosa said.

Furthermore, the President pointed to the key growth areas for investment in South Africa and emphasised the country’s strong industrialisation drive.

“What we want to do is industrialise further. To build strong firms or companies in South Africa that can contribute to increasing investments. We want to ensure that we continue being good partners.

“But we also want to ensure that we learn from what other countries have to offer, particularly when it comes to technological development, renewable energy and when it comes to new industries, such as artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and various modernised ways of doing things.

“We are a very good destination for investments. We have a strong rule of law and any country that invests in our country would be able to do extremely well,” President Ramaphosa emphasised.

Mutual cooperation

Turning to the ASEAN bloc itself, President Ramaphosa highlighted the mutual benefits of the trade and knowledge-sharing relationship that the bloc and South Africa can build upon.

“ASEAN countries have developed in spectacular ways in a number of areas [including] technology, infrastructure and in modernising their economies. We want to learn from that, and we want to share our own practise as a developing country with many countries in this part of the world, as in the developing country mold.

“We believe that we can learn in terms of value addition to goods. You are very strong, as countries in this part of the world, with adding value to the various materials that you have. You are very strong in manufacturing and technological transformation. We want to learn from that, and we want to share.

“We also have some strengths as South Africa with the minerals that we have, with the food production that we have in our country. There’s a lot that we can share together with you,” President Ramaphosa said.

Concluding his remarks, President Ramaphosa reiterated that government is putting in every effort, focused on the goal to “enable South Africa to be an investable market – a market that companies can invest in and where their investments can also be safe”. – SAnews.gov.za