The Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) released its 2024/25 Annual Report which outlines how the FIC delivered on its mandate, achieved a clean audit, and contributed towards bringing South Africa another step closer to being de-listed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list. Acting Director Pieter Smit said the FIC continues to shape itself as “a forward-thinking organisation with enhanced capabilities to anticipate and act with agility to the demands of South Africa’s crime-fighting ecosystem.”

An FATF review team concluded an on-site assessment during July 2025 to verify whether key anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing reforms have been implemented. A decision on South Africa’s potential exit from the grey list is expected at the FATF plenary later this month.

During the 2024/25 financial year, the FIC contributed to the recovery of close to R144 million in criminal proceeds, flowing from the 3,104 reactive and 1,092 proactive financial intelligence reports it produced, as well as 51 reports on illicit financial flows. The Centre also assisted in the freezing of suspected criminal proceeds valued at more than R157.5 million.

A total of 55,262 institutions were registered with the FIC, submitting more than 13.4 million regulatory reports during the year. These reports contain transaction and other crucial data which the FIC uses in its analysis and dissemination of financial intelligence to law enforcement and other competent authorities.

In following a risk-based supervision approach, the FIC conducted 556 inspections in 2024/25, the majority of which were inspections of medium- and high-risk institutions. From these inspections, 330 institutions were issued with reports requiring them to implement remedial actions because of non-compliance, and 25 administrative sanctions were imposed, amounting to R2.23 million.

Through national initiatives such as the Reformed Fusion Centre and the Asset Recovery Hub, the FIC continued to play a leading role in facilitating the timeous sharing of financial and other information to expedite the prevention, detection, investigation, and resolution of criminal matters.

As South Africa works toward potential de-greylisting, the FIC continues to promote a culture of compliance, ensuring accountable institutions remain vigilant in detecting and reporting financial crime.

We will continue to monitor developments from the FIC and FATF closely. Once the outcome of South Africa’s greylisting review is announced, we’ll provide our clients with clear guidance on what it means for their compliance obligations and risk management frameworks.