Nigeria, South Africa, Two Others Exit EU–FATF High-Risk List
Nigeria, South Africa, Burkina Faso and Mozambique have been removed from the European Union’s list of “High-Risk Third Country Jurisdictions” and the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list between October 2025 and January 2026, marking a significant milestone in the continent’s efforts to strengthen financial integrity.
Africa’s most populous nation was placed under increased monitoring in February 2023 following concerns over weaknesses in its AML/CFT regime. Its removal reflects stronger inter-agency coordination, improved supervision of financial institutions and enhanced efforts to tackle illicit financial flows, according to the FATF.
South Africa, Africa’s most industrialised economy, was greylisted in 2023, while Mozambique joined the list in 2022 and Burkina Faso in 2021. The Paris based agency said the country improved its mechanisms for detecting and investigating money laundering and terrorist financing, Mozambique enhanced financial intelligence sharing, and Burkina Faso tightened oversight of financial institutions and other gatekeepers.
“With each plenary, we seek to make the world’s defences against criminals stronger,” Elisa de Anda Madrazo, president of the FATF, said at a press briefing. “This plenary has been a very positive one — a positive story for the continent of Africa.”
Following the FATF decision, the European Union also removed South Africa and other African countries from its own high-risk jurisdictions list on Tuesday, which mirrors the FATF’s grey list. South Africa’s National Treasury said the country’s inclusion on the EU list in 2023 was an automatic consequence of its FATF greylisting.
“The decision to remove South Africa and other African countries from the European Union list was published on January 9, 2026, and will take effect on January 29, 2026,” the Treasury said.
In addition to the four countries, Mali and Tanzania were also delisted from the list.
Under EU law, financial institutions are required to apply enhanced due diligence to transactions involving countries deemed high risk, including more intrusive checks, higher documentation requirements and senior management approval.
Such measures often curb financial flows and act as a disincentive to trade and investment.
According to the Union, the delisted countries had “strengthened the effectiveness of their AML/CFT regimes and addressed technical deficiencies,” signalling renewed confidence in their financial systems and regulatory oversight.
