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Parliament again rejects blacklist of states at risk of money laundering
MEPs again reject as inadequate by 392 votes to 80, with 207 abstentions, a narrow list of countries at risk of money laundering.
Earlier this year, Parliament vetoed a similar list drawn up by the Commission, of countries thought to be at risk of money laundering, financing terrorism or promoting tax evasion. A resolution voted on Wednesday says the EU should have an independent, autonomous process for judging whether countries pose a threat of financial criminality rather than relying on the judgement of an external body.
The list of third-countries judged by the Commission to have strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes are:
- Afghanistan,
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Guyana
- Iraq
- Lao PDR
- Syria
- Uganda
- Vanuatu
- Yemen
- Iran
- Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
The European Commission proposes amending the list by adding Ethiopia and removing Guyana from the list.
Additional information
Under the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering Directive, the Commission is responsible for producing an inventory of countries thought to be at risk of money laundering, tax evasion and terrorism financing. People and legal entities from blacklisted countries face tougher than usual checks when doing business in the EU.
Currently, the Commission relies heavily on the international body, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in drawing up its list.
