Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Europe Says Iraq Is No Longer A High Risk For Money Laundering

Europe Says Iraq Is No Longer A High Risk For Money Laundering

The European Union has removed Iraq from its list of countries deemed to be high risk for money laundering, six years after first identifying it as a problematic jurisdiction.

The EU’s ambassador to Iraq Ville Varjola met prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Baghdad on January 9, saying he was “bringing the good news … that Iraq has been taken off the list of countries at high risk of money laundering by the EU.”

Varjola went on to say that the move “will pave the way for deepening financial cooperation and investment.” He did not give any reasons for the change.

Al-Kadhimi welcomed the decision, saying it was “a manifestation of our effective diplomatic efforts. We will continue working diligently to serve our national interests, and achieve Iraq's deserved status.”

The decision by the EU comes as Iraq slowly inches closer to forming a new government, following the general election in October 2021.

Iraq had been included among the EU’s list of countries with strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering (AML) and combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT) since Brussels issued its first list in July 2016.

The list has undergone regular changes since then – Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad & Tobago and Tunisia were all added in 2017 and Pakistan was added the following year. In 2020, Bosnia Herzegovina, Guyana, Laos, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Tunisia were all removed. Until now, though, Iraq has remained steadfastly on the list.

It's removal will leave 18 countries on the EU’s high-risk register, ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe via the likes of The Bahamas, Syria and Yemen.

In line with FATF ‘grey list’


The EU’s change of heart on Iraq is in line with the position of other major economies and intergovernmental watchdogs.

The EU list is similar to the ’grey list’ of countries maintained by Paris-based global anti-money laundering watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – officially known as the list of “jurisdictions under increased monitoring”.

Iraq was removed from the FATF grey list in June 2018. At the time, the organisation said the country had made “significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime”

Some 11 countries feature on both the EU and FATF lists, including Cambodia, Jamaica, Myanmar and Panama. It was recently reported that the United Arab Emirates may be placed on the FATF grey list, although that has not been confirmed.

The U.S. State Department compiles a far more extensive list of countries as part of its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report. The most recent report, published in March last year, featured 80 "major money laundering jurisdictions" including the U.S. itself but not Iraq.

Since leaving the EU, the UK has maintained its own list of countries deemed to be high-risk for money laundering. In March last year, London also removed Iraq from its list.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×