South Africa faces renewed greylisting risk as anti-corruption reforms fail to progress: BLSA - IOL
BLSA has warned that stalled anti-corruption reforms could put South Africa at risk of returning to the FATF grey list, despite progress in its overall reform score.
Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) has warned that weaknesses in law enforcement could jeopardise the country's progress in tackling financial crime, despite an improvement in its overall reform score.
BLSA said South Africa faces a risk of returning to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list as concerns persist over anti-corruption reforms and the country's ability to investigate and prosecute financial crime.
In its latest quarterly Reform Tracker review, published on October 28, BLSA said the overall reform completion index had risen to 72.5 in the July-to-September period, up from 71.3 in the previous quarter. It was the highest score since monitoring began in March 2024.
However, the corruption reform score remained unchanged at 51.2, raising concerns as South Africa undergoes a new mutual evaluation by the FATF, the international body responsible for setting standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
South Africa was removed from the FATF grey list in October 2025 after addressing deficiencies identified in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework.
BLSA said the current evaluation, which runs until October 2027, would assess whether the country could sustain progress, particularly in investigations and prosecutions involving money laundering networks.
The organisation cited concerns raised by Ismail Momoniat, who led the campaign to secure South Africa's removal from the grey list. He warned that shortcomings in law enforcement could count against the country, particularly in investigating organised crime, securing successful prosecutions and recovering criminal assets.
Despite the concerns, the tracker recorded progress across several areas of economic reform.
Electricity reforms improved from 67.8 to 69.4, while freight logistics rose from 69.6 to 72.5. Financial sector reforms increased from 88.1 to 89.5, and the criminal justice category edged up from 84.2 to 84.5.
Governance was the only broad category to decline, slipping from 55.0 to 54.6.
BLSA chief executive Busisiwe Mavuso welcomed the improvement in the overall figures, saying the reversal of the previous quarter's trend was encouraging. She also highlighted progress in water, energy and transport, describing efficient network sectors as essential to a stronger economy.
The tracker assessed 181 reform deliverables during the quarter. Of the 179 that could be compared directly with the previous quarter, 40 changed score: 33 improved and seven declined.
BLSA said it welcomed the renewed momentum but cautioned that weaknesses in anti-corruption reforms remained a concern. The organisation said continued progress across the reform agenda was important for strengthening the economy and addressing challenges including high unemployment.
The latest assessment highlights a gap between broader reform progress and the work still required to demonstrate sustained effectiveness in tackling financial crime. A return to the grey list is a risk identified by BLSA, rather than a confirmed outcome of the ongoing FATF evaluation.
