The European Union has removed Nigeria and South Africa from its list of High-Risk Third Country Jurisdictions, a development expected to significantly enhance financial transactions, trade and investment flows between the affected countries and the EU.
South Africa’s National Treasury disclosed the development in a statement issued on Tuesday, noting that the decision was published on January 9, 2026, and is scheduled to take effect from January 29.
Alongside Nigeria and South Africa, other African countries removed from the list include Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania.
The delisting followed the earlier removal of the affected countries from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2025. Countries on the FATF grey list are placed under increased monitoring due to concerns related to money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
According to South Africa’s Treasury, the country was placed on the EU high-risk list in August 2023 as an automatic consequence of its inclusion on the FATF grey list earlier that year.
Explaining the implications of being listed by the EU, the Treasury said the designation subjected countries to stricter scrutiny of financial transactions.
“EU law requires that financial institutions must apply a higher level of scrutiny to transactions involving countries deemed to be high risk,” it said, adding that this resulted in stricter documentation requirements, ongoing monitoring and the need for senior management approval.
The Treasury noted that such measures often slowed down payment processes, trade activities and investment flows.
The European Commission acknowledged the progress made by Nigeria, South Africa and the other delisted countries in improving their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing frameworks.
In a statement, the Commission said, “Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania have strengthened the effectiveness of their anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism regimes.”
It further stated, “The Commission therefore considers that these countries no longer have strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism regimes.”
Despite the positive development, South Africa’s Treasury cautioned that removal from the EU and FATF lists does not imply that all outstanding challenges have been resolved.
It said, “Much work still needs to be done to strengthen deficiencies in the prevention, identification, investigation and prosecution of money laundering and terrorism financing.”
The Treasury also confirmed that South Africa will undergo a new round of FATF evaluation in the coming months, with the final report expected to be released in October 2027.
While the EU decision removes the legal obligation for enhanced due diligence on transactions involving the delisted countries, the Treasury noted that individual EU financial institutions may still apply their own internal risk assessment policies.
For Nigeria, the delisting is expected to ease financial transactions with European partners and boost trade and investment, particularly as the country continues to implement reforms aimed at improving transparency and compliance within its financial system.
The European Union said the decision reflects confidence in the progress made by the affected African countries, while also urging authorities to sustain reforms and strengthen institutions to prevent money laundering and other financial crimes.
