Greylisting is an opportunity to tighten controls, says Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa believes that South Africa can use its greylisting status as an “opportunity” to tighten controls to improve the country’s response to organised crime.
South Africa was officially greylisted on Friday by the international crime watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
This means that the country will be under more surveillance, probing whether its laws and regulations on money laundering and terrorism funding are sufficient.
In his weekly newsletter released on Monday, Ramaphosa downplayed the impact of the greylisting - saying the situation is concerning but less dire than some people suggest.
Some of the implications include fewer capital flows into South Africa, less foreign direct investment, and difficulty obtaining financing on the international market.
“As a country that both values and enforces the rule of law, the greylisting is an opportunity for us to tighten our controls and improve our response to organised crime. This will ultimately place us on a stronger footing to effectively fight these damaging and dangerous crimes,” wrote Ramaphosa.
South Africa still has eight outstanding actions that it needs to comply with.
A total of 130 requirements were set by the FATF.
National Treasury, under the leadership of Finance Minister Enoch Gungubele, believes that the country will adequality address them before the FATF’s 2025 deadline.
