South Africa is intensifying its efforts to exit the dirty money watchlist maintained by the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF). To accomplish this, the country’s financial watchdog, the Financial Intelligence Centre, is implementing stricter oversight on the legal and real estate sectors. Both these industries have been perceived as posing significant risks in the movement of illicit funds and in funding terrorism.
Simultaneously, the South African government is enforcing mandatory disclosure requirements on legal professionals and real estate brokers in these sectors. Failure to comply with the said demands could expose them to significant fines. Compliance is viewed as a necessary step toward ensuring that South Africa is excluded from the FATF’s “grey list” by January 2025.
The intensified scrutiny from the Financial Intelligence Centre is pivotal to South Africa’s plan to exit the Paris-based FATF’s so-called gray list. The South African government has identified the legal profession and real estate brokers as sectors that pose a high risk for potential flows of illegal funds and terrorism financing.
For more detailed information, you may refer to the full report provided by Bloomberg here.