The National Treasury has expressed satisfaction with the progress being made to remove South Africa from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global anti-money laundering watchdog, said on Friday it had removed the Philippines from its 'grey' list of countries under increased scrutiny, while it added Laos and Nepal to that list.

The Philippines is no longer on the list of countries under heavy scrutiny by the top global money laundering and terrorism financing watchdog.

The DOJ welcomed the Philippines' exit from an international body's anti-dirty money “grey list”, saying prosecutors had a vital role in going after money launderers and terrorism financiers.

The Philippines is set to enjoy lower foreign remittance costs for its millions of workers overseas and better investor perception following its removal from the global dirty

Authorities say this would help attract investments and aid overseas Filipino workers who send remittances through banks.

The Philippine government welcomed the country’s removal from a global watchdog’s dirty-money list, which could spur remittances and foreign investments in one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies. The Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) decision to take Manila off the list is expected to “facilitate faster and lower-cost cross-border transactions,