FATF adds Nigeria, South Africa to watchlist

On Friday, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental policy-making body that seeks to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism, added Nigeria and South Africa to its “grey list” of countries that need to intensify efforts to tackle these issues. The two African countries were added to the list following a review, which highlighted strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.

The FATF explained that the inclusion of a jurisdiction on its grey list means the country must commit to resolving the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring. The organisation and FATF-style regional bodies will work with the jurisdictions under increased monitoring, calling on them to complete their action plans swiftly and within the agreed timeframes.

According to the FATF, the African countries are actively working with the organisation to address the identified deficiencies in their regimes. The FATF welcomes their commitment and will closely monitor their progress. The FATF does not call for the application of enhanced due diligence measures to be applied to these jurisdictions.

Additionally, the FATF suspended Russia’s membership for the “illegal, unprovoked and unjustified full-scale military invasion of Ukraine” since February 24, 2022. The organisation explained that Russia’s continuing and intensifying war of aggression against Ukraine runs counter to FATF’s principles of promoting security, safety and the integrity of the global financial system. The FATF has suspended the membership of the Russian Federation, as a result.