EU moves to delist UAE from money laundering risk list
The European Union plans to remove the United Arab Emirates from its list of high-risk countries for money laundering, a move the Gulf nation has been actively advocating for.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, took the UAE off its list of “high-risk jurisdictions presenting strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes,” according to a statement, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
The change still needs the go-ahead from EU member states and the European Parliament, which last year blocked the UAE’s removal from the list.
The EU’s financial services commissioner, Maria Luis Albuquerque, said the move “reiterates our strong commitment to aligning with international standards,” in particular those set by the Financial Action Task Force, which removed the UAE from its list for ‘increased monitoring’ last year.
The removal would satisfy a demand from the UAE, which has previously raised its concerns about its inclusion on the so-called “black list”. It comes as the two parties recently agreed to launch free trade negotiations.
Other countries taken off the the EU’s list were: Barbados, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal and Uganda. Countries added were: Algeria, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela.
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