South Africa's National Treasury has published the draft General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Bill, 2025 for public comment, with submissions due by 13 February 2026. The draft updates the 2024 version and adds provisions on non-governmental organisations and the conduct of lifestyle audits, aimed at further strengthening the AML/CFT framework ahead of South Africa’s next FATF Mutual Evaluation running from mid-2026 to October 2027. The draft bill proposes amendments across the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001, the Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017, the Companies Act, 2008, and the Nonprofit Organisations Act, 1997. Key changes include addressing targeted financial sanctions deficiencies, expanding Financial Intelligence Centre information-sharing powers including with the Public Procurement Office and the Border Management Authority and in relation to lifestyle audits, extending personal information protections, tightening requirements around new technologies and anonymous clients, specifying maximum penalties under the Nonprofit Organisations Act, strengthening remedial and sanctioning tools for beneficial ownership non-compliance under the Companies Act, and bolstering customer protection, licensing, market conduct and AML-related powers and enforcement under the Financial Sector Regulation Act. After the comment period, National Treasury, partner departments, the Financial Intelligence Centre and financial sector regulators intend to review submissions, revise the draft as appropriate, submit it to Cabinet, and then table the bill in Parliament.

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