From CompliNEWS | Financial Service Intelligence Watch

From grey list to proactive enforcement, South Africa raises the AML bar

South Africa’s removal from the FATF grey list in October 2025 was a milestone, but as ENS notes in commentary published via Lexology, it came with a clear expectation: the country must move from reactive to proactive financial crime detection. The Draft General Laws Amendment Bill reflects that shift, most notably through the expansion of the Financial Intelligence Centre’s ability to support lifestyle audits even where no prior suspicion exists. This marks a deliberate move toward earlier identification of risk, rather than waiting for suspicious transactions to surface.

For compliance professionals, the implication is straightforward. The regulatory environment is tightening, and expectations are evolving beyond reporting toward active risk identification and interrogation. Combined with broader reforms around beneficial ownership and oversight of higher-risk sectors, this signals a more assertive AML framework ahead of the next FATF evaluation cycle. The message is clear: demonstrating effective, proactive compliance will matter far more than simply having the right policies in place.

Read the Full ENS report on the Lexology site