Afghanistan is among the European Commission’s blacklist of nations that are considered a threat because of poor money laundering controls.
Saudi Arabia, Panama and four U.S. territories are added to the list. Other states included are: North Korea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Yemen.
The commission said it added jurisdictions with “strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing regimes”.
This comes after the EU notices several scandals at its banks.
However, the move is criticized by several EU countries, including Britain, that are worried about their economic ties with the listed states.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s central bank has called the inclusion of Afghanistan a hasty move and said the country follows international standards in its banking system and abides by the laws preventing money laundering and terrorism financing.
The U.S. Treasury has called the listing process “flawed” and rejected inclusion of the four U.S. territories on the list.
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