The European Union has revealed the blacklist of countries at risk for money laundering

Saudi Arabia, Panama and US Virgin Islands have been included in a blacklist adopted by the regulators of the European Union in the midst of efforts to reduce the risks of money laundering and financing terrorism in commercial agreements or transactions.

On Wednesday, the European Commission has identified 23 countries which pose a higher risk of illicit financial flows, adding hurdles for banks in Europe in the future when dealing with country customers in these countries.

"We have put in place the strictest rules in the world in the fight against money laundering, but we must ensure that dirty money from other countries does not have money. does not reach our financial system, "said the European Commissioner for Justice. Vera Jourováin a statement. "Dirty money It's the soul of organized crime and terrorism, "he said.

The EU's measure will stem from a series of money laundering cases involving some of the biggest banks in the bloc, highlighting failures within the EU framework. Danske Bank A / S is at the center of a dirty money scandal involving suspected funds from Russia and other places throughout your Estonian unit.

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"This is an invitation to remedy their weaknesses and my doors remain open," Jourova told reporters in Strasbourg (France), adding that the list was not engraved in the marble and that it would be as the countries concerned respond to the regulator's concerns. l & # 39; EU. "My goal is not to list countries in order to list them."

Following this list, "banks and other entities governed by EU anti-money laundering regulations will be required to exercise greater control (prior checking) over the control of money laundering. financial transactions involving customers and financial institutions in these third country countries to better identify suspicious money flows, "said the commission.

This is the first time that the Commission is preparing a list based on its own methodology, geared towards more countries than the current version, largely based on the badysis done by the Financial Action Group, a global regulator . A country is added if "strategic shortcomings" are identified in its anti-money laundering framework, for example with respect to record keeping and reporting of suspicious transactions.

ED