Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 16, 2025

EU anti-money laundering blacklist to be revisited

EU anti-money laundering blacklist to be revisited

Next month, the European Union will revamp its methodology for compiling its anti-money laundering blacklist, after a previous list was blocked by EU governments that objected to the listing of Saudi Arabia and four US overseas territories,

EU Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova told the Financial Times recently. “We have admitted this point and said we need to communicate earlier with the states that might appear on the list,” Ms. Jourova said. “That is why we are now reviewing the methodology.”

The Virgin Islands escaped the list, which was released in February, but Ms. Jourova said the new methodology is likely to yield different results, and may include a “grey list” of countries that agree to make the EU-recommended changes.

The February blacklist included 23 non-EU countries and territories - including the United States VI, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Saudi Arabia, Panama and Nigeria - which, according to the com- mission, had “strategic deficiencies” in their anti-money laundering regimes.

However, thanks to heavy lobbying from Saudi Arabia and the US, EU governments rejected the list, criticising the way countries were selected and the short notice they were given to respond to the findings.

The list is different from the one released in March listing “non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.” This territory avoided inclusion on that list by rushing through the Economic Substance Act late last year.

However, this territory was included on the initial anti-money laundering shortlist of 54 “priority jurisdictions” the EU Commission first identified in November 2018, based on economic ties with the EU, potential impact on the EU financial system, and whether they were identified as offshore financial centres by the International Monetary Fund.

List methodology


After compiling the initial list, the commission analysed the existing threats, the legal framework, and any controls put in place by the jurisdictions to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing risks. According to the commission, it also considered the work of the Financial Action Task Force, which has compiled its own anti-money laundering blacklist. Ultimately, the EU added 11 countries to that list.

This time around, according to Ms. Jourova, the new methodology has been developed with involvement from EU governments, who claimed they had previously not been sufficiently involved, and with more communication with the countries likely to be listed.

Countries blacklisted by the EU would suffer severe consequences as banks in the EU would have to apply enhanced due-diligence measures concerning all transactions involving individuals and entities from those countries.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
×