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Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economies, South Africa and Nigeria, have been removed from a global watchdog’s list of countries subject to increased monitoring for illicit money flows.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) made the announcement at the end of a plenary meeting on Friday, also removing commodity-rich Mozambique and Burkina Faso from its ‘grey list’.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu described the development as “a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey towards economic reform, institutional integrity and global credibility.”
President Tinubu applauded the vital support from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Minister of Aviation, the Minister for Budget and Economic Planning, the Minister for Defence, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Solid Minerals, the Minister of State for Finance, the National Security Adviser as well as the leadership of the National Assembly and the Judiciary, in the attainment of the laudable achievement.
President Tinubu commended the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Ms Hafsat Abubakar Bakari, and the staff for their diligence in ensuring the complete and timely implementation of the country’s Action Plan. He noted that the NFIU’s work has led to the recognition by the international community of the strides Nigeria has made in strengthening its measures to tackle serious crimes.
“Without their dedication and sacrifice, today’s success could not have been achieved. I thank them for their efforts and urged other stakeholders to emulate their standards,” President Tinubu said.
South Africa and Nigeria were added to the FATF’s list of countries under special scrutiny in 2023, while Mozambique has been there since 2022. Burkina Faso was added in 2021.
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.
“With each plenary we seek to make the world’s defence against criminals stronger, and we have made a number of updates on our grey list,” Elisa de Anda Madrazo, president of the FATF, told a press conference. “And this plenary has been very positive, a positive story for the continent of Africa,” she said.
South Africa’s government said FATF’s decision was a major achievement but that there was still work to be done to strengthen key institutions. Nigeria said the decision reinforced confidence in its economy.
Analysts say getting off the list could make it easier for capital to enter the four African countries. It could also benefit companies and households in those countries by lowering funding costs.
The International Monetary Fund has estimated that being on the list reduces foreign capital inflows by approximately 7.6% of gross domestic product.
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