South Africa, Nigeria among African countries off financial crime watch list

A global financial crime watchdog on Friday removed four African nations - South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique and Burkina Faso - from its list of countries under increased monitoring for illicit money flows.

Sub-Saharan Africa's largest economies South Africa and Nigeria were added to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 'grey list' in 2023. Mozambique has been on there since 2022 and Burkina Faso since 2021.

The Paris-based FATF announced the four countries' removal at the end of a plenary meeting.

Analysts say getting off the list could make it easier for capital to enter those countries and ease transaction delays.

The FATF said South Africa had sharpened tools to detect money laundering and terrorist financing, Nigeria had stronger inter-agency coordination, Mozambique had improved financial intelligence sharing and Burkina Faso had enhanced oversight of financial institutions and gatekeepers.