South African authorities will meet their peers at a global financial watchdog next week as they seek to avoid being placed on a so-called gray list denoting nations with deficiencies in tackling illicit financial flows.
A delegation led by the acting director general of the National Treasury, Ismail Momoniat, will meet with the Joint Group of the International Financial Action Task Force in Rabat, Morocco, on January 13, the National Treasury said in a statement on Friday. This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa late last month signed into law two key laws that were seen as important to address the shortcomings noted by the watchdog.
Central bank, tax office and law enforcement officials will take part in the meeting to update the Paris-based body on progress made by the South African authorities.
Africa’s most industrialized economy was found deficient on all 11 FATF measures of effectiveness in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. The assessment was carried out in 2019 after an era of endemic corruption during the nine-year rule of former President Jacob Zuma. Zuma, who resigned in 2018 under pressure from the ruling party, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The central bank previously warned that gray listing could have far-reaching consequences for South Africa’s financial system. In addition to causing reputational damage, it could lead to outflows of capital and foreign currency, while transaction, administrative and financing costs for banks could rise, he said.
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