The FATF, an international watchdog that monitors how countries prevent money laundering and terror financing, confirmed that all four countries have made “notable improvements” in fixing the weaknesses that once placed them in the high-risk category for illicit financial activities.
The announcement, delivered in Paris last Friday, is being widely seen as a major boost, especially for Nigeria and South Africa, Africa’s biggest economies, whose grey-listing had previously triggered alarm among investors and global financial institutions.
Being placed on the grey list means FATF believes a country lacks strong financial surveillance systems, things like inadequate regulation of money transfers, weak enforcement of anti–terror finance laws, or poor banking transparency.
Although grey-listing is not as severe as blacklisting, it usually results in tighter checks from international banks, more expensive financial transactions, and declining foreign investments.
Economic experts say that for nations like Nigeria and South Africa, already dealing with inflation and unstable currencies, the grey list acted like a financial warning sign, scaring off investors and complicating access to global funding for local businesses.
Nigeria responded by introducing stricter anti-money-laundering measures, increasing monitoring of digital and mobile money transfers, and strengthening coordination between financial intelligence units and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
South Africa, after years of corruption scandals and state capture issues, passed new reforms that empowered regulators to trace suspicious financial flows and hold public officials accountable.
According to FATF, these reforms show “strong political commitment and measurable progress,” though the group emphasized that continued monitoring is essential.
Mozambique and Burkina Faso also met the expectations, particularly by improving tracking of cross-border financial movements linked to armed groups in their territories.
