The move, Reuters said, is part of a crackdown against money laundering after several scandals hit EU banks in recent months. But it has triggered criticism from several EU states worried about their economic relations with the listed states, notably Saudi Arabia. Panama said it should be removed from the list because it recently adopted stronger rules against money laundering. The bloc’s banks will have to carry out additional checks on payments involving entities from listed jurisdictions. The other listed states are Afghanistan, North Korea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Yemen.

Source: Nigerian Tribune February 13, 2019 15:00 UTC