South Africa: Money Laundering

South Africa's financial regulators have published Draft Joint Standard 1 of 2026, introducing comprehensive requirements for identifying and vetting beneficial owners of financial institutions. Stemming from the country's 2023 FATF greylisting, this regulatory framework aims to prevent criminals from acquiring ownership or control of banks, insurers, and other regulated entities. How will these new fit-and-proper requirements, reporting obligations, and governance standards reshape beneficial ownership com

Regulators worldwide are accelerating rule-making at an unprecedented pace, creating a widening gap between compliance expectations and organizational capability. South African boards face mounting pressure across AI governance, financial crime prevention, and climate disclosure, with King V's outcomes-based framework now demanding measurable evidence that governance practices actually work. The question is no longer whether organizations can tick compliance boxes, but whether they possess the integrated ov

South Africa's whistleblower protection framework is undergoing significant reform through the proposed Protected Disclosures Bill, 2026, which aims to address critical gaps exposed by high-profile assassinations and the Zondo Commission findings. The new legislation promises expanded protections, criminal sanctions for retaliation, and financial rewards for whistleblowers, but will the reforms be sufficient to encourage individuals to come forward in a climate where speaking up can cost lives?

​​In line with South Africa's attempts to get off the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) greylist, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) issued the Revised Guidance Note 7A (revised GN 7A) on 1 September 2025.

The Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) confirmed at its Plenary held during the week of 20 – 24 October 2025 that South Africa has been removed from the FATF's greylist.

South Africa's greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") in February 2023 marks a challenging period for the country. This placement was due to non-compliance in its legal framework...

Following our article published on 11 April 2023 in relation to grey listing, numerous updates relating to grey listing and measures taken to combat corrupt activities have surfaced...

Amendments to the Trust Property Control Act 1988, which are intended to address the shortcomings in beneficial ownership transparency in South Africa's regulatory framework, were brought into force on 1 April after the implementing regulations were gazetted on 31 March.

The Financial Action Task Force (herein "FATF") is the global policy-developing body for anti-money laundering (AML); counter financing of terrorism (CFT); and counter financing...