South Africa moves closer to exiting dirty-money list in October

South Africa is edging closer to leaving a global financial watchdog's so-called gray list in October, with a team of assessors scheduled to visit the nation this month.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has already determined that South African authorities had met "all or almost all of the actions" required to leave the list and the visiting team will evaluate that "implementation is there, but also that it's sustainable," FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo said Thursday.

Exiting the list would show South Africa has made sufficient progress implementing reforms to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, potentially boosting investor confidence and smoothing capital flows. Africa's most industrialised economy joined the gray list in February 2023.

"They will come, they will assess, and they will come back to the plenary and report on their findings and we will make a decision" at the group's October plenary, De Anda Madrazo said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "Whatever that decision is, what I can tell you is that we do see political commitment in South Africa."

She was speaking on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors' meetings at a coastal resort in South Africa, the host.

The former Mexican official met South Africa's central bank governor at the event and saw political commitment from the authorities, she said.