South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso Off from FATF Grey List: October 2025 Plenary
Published On: 10/25/2025
Last Reviewed On: 08/06/2026 | Last Updated On: 08/06/2026
Executive Summary:
- Removed from Grey list: 4 removals — South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Burkina Faso.
- Added to Grey List: No new additions.
- Blacklist: No change.
- Rationale: Progress on AML/CFT frameworks and inter-agency coordination.
South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso Off from FATF Grey List: October 2025 Plenary
As part of its mandate, FATF periodically provides updates for jurisdictions under their increased monitoring colloquially known as the “FATF Grey List”. This is a list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT/CPF regimes and are actively working with FATF to address these deficiencies.
On 24th October 2025, the last plenary session of the year was concluded by the FATF. It brought significant changes to the status of grey listed countries. South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Burkina Faso were removed from the FATF Grey List.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a global watchdog against the crimes of Money Laundering (ML), Terrorism Financing (TF), and Proliferation Financing (PF). FATF undertakes extensive research and sets international standards to combat financial crimes. FATF has issued uniform recommendations on Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT), and Counter-Proliferation of Financing (CPF), for countries. It diligently monitors the compliance of these norms in the domestic AML/CFT/CPF framework of countries around the globe.
Updates Made to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List on 24th October 2025
FATF Plenary October 2025: Updates made to FATF greylist mainly include removal of four countries as discussed below.
Countries Removed from FATF Grey List (Jurisdiction Under Increased Monitoring) on 24th October 2025:
- FATF removes Burkina Faso from Grey List: 24th October 2025
- FATF removes Mozambique from Grey List: 24th October 2025
- FATF removes Nigeria from Grey List: 24th October 2025
- FATF removes South Africa from Grey List: 24th October 2025
The FATF Grey List as of 24th October 2025: FATF Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring as of 24th October 2025
1. Algeria
2. Angola
3. Bolivia
4. Bulgaria
5. Cameroon
6. Côte d’Ivoire
6. Democratic Republic of Congo
8. Haiti
9. Kenya
10. Laos
11. Lebanon
12. Monaco
13. Namibia
14. Nepal
15. South Sudan
16. Syria
17. Venezuela
18. Vietnam
19. Virgin Islands (UK)
20. Yemen
Action Plan for Regulated Entities Consequent to Changes in Financial Action Task Force Grey List dated 24th October 2025
– Conduct Enterprise-Wide Risk Assessment and assess the likelihood of ML/TF risks arising from the exposure to the latest FATF Grey List countries.
– Revise risk matrices to flag
- South Africa
- Nigeria
- Mozambique
- Burkina Faso
related profiles to appropriate risk ratings while considering other risk factors applicable.
– Ensure Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) is applied to the customers or suppliers associated with the “FATF defined Jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring”.
– Update internal AML Policies and Procedures to reflect the material changes of FATF Grey List
– Recalibrate the configuration of AML software solutions in proportion with the FATF Grey List updates
– Ensure that screening and submission of Regulatory Reports capture elevated or diluted risks associated with the Grey-Listed countries and mandate escalation as per the updated list.
– Conduct structured training sessions for the employees to educate them with updated procedures for dealing with the customer.
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