Explainer: We checked â hereâs how SA is staying off the FATF grey list

This story has significance for readers across Africa and beyond.

Since earlier this year, fresh off the grey list, South Africa has been on something called the 5th Round Mutual Evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

This concludes in 2027, just as the Springboks start their Rugby World Cup title defence Down Under, but crucially moves the needle from paperwork or legislative adoption to tangible, real-world enforcement outcomes and effectiveness.

How the country handles the recommendations and findings from the Madlanga Commission and any other commission of inquiry between now and then will play a major role in us staying off the grey list, but letâs instead focus on the other positives.

On 2 July, the FATF launched its latest initiative, Roadmap 26-28: Mobilising the Global Fight Against Fraud, marking the commencement of the United Kingdomâs FATF Presidency under Giles Thomson. The launch brought together more than 1,600 global participants to establish a coordinated international front against a rapidly evolving, transnational fraud epidemic.

New broom sweeps fraud

During the launch, Thomson outlined the three strategic priorities of the UK presidency: âfraud, improving the implementation of the risk-based approach, and improving the sharing of information to tackle financial crimeâ.

The overarching objective of the 2026-2028 roadmap is to shift the global financial network from its posture of passive detection to active, real-time prevention and recovery.

Thomson summarised this mandate with a central question: âHow do we move from a situation of largely reacting to trying to prevent fraud at scale, recover stolen funds and return them to their victims?â

Three stops on the roadmap timeline:

1. Immediate focus on scam compounds (July-October 2026): Partnering with the UN, Interpol and regional bodies to move rapidly from, in Thomsonâs words, âadmiring the problem to identifying how detection and disruption techniques workâ.

2. Focus on cyber-enabled fraud (October 2026-February 2027): Gathering a clear picture of global best practices, technical gaps and priority actions.

3. Implementation and enforcement (February 2027-June 2028): Shifting entirely toward executing these priority actions across all member jurisdictions.

Interestingly, South Africa will play a key role in this roadmap. To support the objectives outlined under the UK Presidency, the FATF is deploying a toolkit of sorts.

First is the enhancement of transaction traceability by updating Recommendation 16 (R.16) to improve originator and beneficiary information within payment messages.

Then thereâs the question of regulating virtual assets. Thomson is leaning on this point because of the âcritical importance of closing the gaps in the implementation of FATF standards on regulation and supervision of virtual assetsâ, given their heavy use in the commission and laundering of fraud.

Finally, thereâs the enhancement of public-private partnerships by facilitating cross-sector and cross-border information-sharing among financial institutions, telecommunications firms, social media platforms and digital asset providers.

Familiar drum beat

If the above sounds like the many governance, economic and financial reforms that have been happening under the GNU, thatâs kind of the point.

Based on the latest FATF implementation reports, the fear of South Africa being placed on the grey list again due to digital asset fraud or information-sharing deficiencies is not a credible threat.

In the FATFâs July 2026 Targeted Update on Virtual Assets, South Africa achieved a highly positive technical compliance rating of Largely Compliant as of its 2024 assessment. Mzansi has successfully implemented every major digital asset metric surveyed by the FATF.

Our PPP model is also considered to be highly sophisticated, with the South African Money Laundering Integrated Task Force actively collaborating with environmental and financial law enforcement, achieving successful outcomes in complex cross-border financial investigations.

We have also been noted for uniquely encouraging banking institutions to consult directly with public sector investigative authorities before closing or acting on flagged accounts, helping prevent unilateral derisking and maintaining the vital operational trust required to dismantle criminal networks.

So while grey-listing depends on overall national effectiveness across all 40 recommendations, South Africa has already established highly effective, compliant and modern regulatory frameworks in the exact areas â virtual assets, payment transparency, and public-private information sharing â that the FATF is targeting under its new roadmap.

Some would say that weâre on the path to successfully avoiding additional scrutiny. DM

Reporting originally appeared via Daily Maverick. Read the full source for additional context.