By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
THE European Commission has added Monaco to its ‘blacklist’ of countries with weak anti-money laundering (AML) regimes.
It has also removed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the list, a move which would facilitate trade talks with the Middle Eastern nation.
Monaco, a haven for the world’s super-rich, was also recently ‘grey listed’ by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Alongside Monaco, other jurisdictions added include: Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela.
Those which would be removed by the EU include: Barbados, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal and Uganda.
The European Commission’s list still has to be approved by MEPs in the European Parliament before being adopted by the EU.
Monaco added to blacklist
The EU list identifies “high-risk jurisdictions” with “strategic deficiencies” in their AML regimes. The latest update is available to view [HERE].
The list is commonly referred to as a ‘blacklist’, including by EU MEPs.
In a statement, the European Commission said: “The updated list takes into account the work of the FATF.
It said, in particular, FATF’s list of “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring”. This is commonly referred to as FATF’s ‘grey list’.
“As a founding member of FATF, the Commission is closely involved in monitoring the progress of the listed jurisdictions,” it said.
The Commission added: “Alignment with FATF is important for upholding the EU´s commitment to global standards.”
The EU list has not been updated since 2023. The EU list is proposed by the European Commission. It must then be approved by MEPs in the European Parliament, MEPs can only approve or reject the Commission’s proposal, not amend it.
The European Commission was due to publish its proposed updates to the list last week. However, this was delayed. The Commission said this was due to “administrative reasons”.
But it has been widely reported that there are disagreements among MEPs over which jurisdictions should be added to the EU’s list.
Some MEPs remain opposed to removing the UAE and Gibraltar. It had been expected that the Commission may consider adding Russia to the list could get the approval of more MEPs.
The update would also help with current trade negotiations with the UAE. The UAE is negotiating a trade deal with the EU. However, its inclusion on the ‘blacklist’ has complicated talks.
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