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South Africa is off the grey list and onto the A list!

Oct 30, 2025

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For the past 2 years we have been running ourselves ragged with FICA compliance: furnishing Accountable Institutions with ID documents, bank statements, drawing organograms and sometimes even the whole family tree to comply. Well, the good news is that we did it – 2025 has been a turning point for FICA compliance in South Africa! 

We all played our part in getting South Africa off the grey list and now we want to stay on the A list by keeping all these steps in place. As we look back on this crazy time let’s reflect and ask ourselves what it was all about.

How and why was South Africa put onto the grey list?

South Africa was placed on the grey list in February 2023 when deficiencies were identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in order to enforce our compliance with international anti-money laundering / counter financial terrorism measures and standards. 

What did the grey-listing mean for South Africa?

South Africa was under increased scrutiny and reviews by FATF to improve our anti-money laundering / counter financial terrorism measures within agreed timelines. This diluted global confidence in South Africa’s investment appeal.

Does grey-listing serve its purpose?

The grey list is generally accepted as an effective method to ensure that a country takes action to comply with global practices to curb anti-money laundering / counter financial terrorism. Remaining on the grey list for a long period of time impacts a country by making international trade and investment more challenging.

South Africa’s exit from the grey list

On 24 October 2025 South Africa was removed from the grey list. This is very positive news for South Africa which will undoubtedly increase overall market confidence in our country. We must however remember the measures we have implemented to achieve this and continue to uphold good FICA / Know Your Client (KYC) policies.

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