The European Commission has unveiled a list of 23 countries which it says have “strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks”. The announcement is likely to set off a fierce lobbying effort by the affected countries, which include the likes of Nigeria, Panama and Saudi Arabia which have extensive financial dealings with Europe. The 23 countries were all judged to have “strategic deficiencies” in their anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing regimes. However, 10 countries from the previous list also feature on the latest version, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq and North Korea. “With huge global money laundering scandals coming out of Europe, such as Danske Bank, the EU should urgently be tackling financial crime within and beyond its borders.”

Source: Forbes February 13, 2019 15:11 UTC