The other listed countries are Afghanistan, North Korea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Yemen. The move is said to be part of a crackdown on money laundering after several scandals at EU banks but has been criticised by several EU countries, including Britain, worried about their economic relations with the listed countries, notably Saudi Arabia. Despite pressure to exclude Saudi Arabia from the list, the commission decided to list the kingdom. The bloc’s banks will have to carry out additional checks on payments involving entities from listed jurisdictions. London has led a pushback against the EU list in past days, and at closed-door meetings urged the exclusion of Saudi Arabia, EU sources told Reuters.

Source: Punch February 13, 2019 23:03 UTC