Four African countries taken off global money-laundering ‘grey list’

South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Burkinabe are all now included on the “grey list” of nations that are being monitored more closely, according to a global watchdog for money-laundering.

Following “successful on-site visits” that demonstrated “positive progress” in addressing shortcomings within agreed timeframes, the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF), a financial crimes watchdog based in France, announced on Friday that it would remove the four nations.

Countries that the FATF has identified as not meeting its standards are listed on “grey” and “black” lists. It views grey list nations as those whose anti-money laundering policies have “strategic deficiencies,” but which are still working with the organization to address them.

Elisa de Anda Madrazo, president of FATF, described the removal of the four as “a positive story for Africa’s continent.”

She said that South Africa improved its methods for identifying money laundering and terrorist financing, Nigeria improved coordination between organizations, Mozambique increased sharing financial intelligence, and Burkinabe strengthened its oversight of financial institutions.

In 2023, Nigeria and South Africa were added, followed by Burkinabe in 2021, Mozambique in 2022, and Burkinabe in 2021.

Officials from the four nations welcomed the decision, which means the organization will no longer have to monitor them more closely.

The country’s Financial Intelligence Unit, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, added that the delisting represented a “major milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward economic reform, institutional integrity, and global credibility,” and that it had “worked resolutely through a 19-point action plan” to demonstrate its commitment to improvement.

The South African Revenue Service’s commissioner, Edward Kieswetter, praised the update, saying 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.”

Although Mozambican officials had been expressing for several months that they were optimistic about being removed, the leaders of Mozambique and Burkinabe refused to comment right away.

When the FATF’s assessment in 2030 is done, Mozambique will find a completely different situation from the one found in 2021, according to Finance Minister Carla Louveira in July.

More than 200 nations around the world have pledged to uphold the FATF’s standards when it evaluates their efforts to stop money laundering, as well as terrorist and weapons financing.