The regulation of cryptocurrencies to combat money laundering: A South African perspective

Cryptocurrencies are not wholly regulated or recognised as legal tender in South Africa. This makes South Africa a prime breeding ground for criminals to launder money using cryptocurrencies. In February 2023, South Africa was grey listed by the Financial Action Task Force for not fully complying with their anti-money laundering standards. It is likely that the unregulated use of cryptocurrencies, which carry significant money laundering risks, could have contributed to the grey listing of South Africa. South Africa recently took steps towards regulating cryptocurrencies to combat money laundering as crypto assets were declared financial products for the purposes of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act 37 of 2002, and Crypto Asset Service Providers (CASPs) were included as accountable institutions for the purposes of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001.