South Africa off the FATF grey list, onto the rulebook

The FATF removed South Africa from its grey list on 24 October 2025, ending a multi-year remediation of the country's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regime, coordinated across the Treasury, SARB, FIC and FSCA.

For the continent's largest financial services hub and crypto asset market, delisting removed a stigma that had weighed on institutional participation and VASP licensing decisions. By the first half of 2026, the effect was visible in the pace of rulemaking: CARF in effect, Travel Rule guidance drafted, and crypto assets incorporated into the capital flow framework. The grey list exit and the subsequent rulebook build-out together position South Africa as the region's regulated crypto hub.