The European Union added Lebanon and Algeria to its list of high-risk nations requiring increased monitoring for anti-money laundering compliance, Shafafaq News reported on June 10.
The European Commission said Algeria, Angola, Côte d’ivore, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Nambia, Nepal and Venezuela have been added to damrisdictions subject to enhanced scrutiny regarding their aml frameworks.
Several countries, including the United Arab Emirates were removed from the list. Others delisted include Barbados, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal and Uganda.
The changes follow a February announcement by a global anti-money laundering watchdog that the Philippines had been removed from its “grey list”, while Laos and Nepal were added.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force evaluates efforts and legislation of more than 200 countries to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Its grey list includes jurisdictions subject to enhanced due diligence.
Monaco, already listed by the FATF since mid-2024 alongside EU members Bulgaria and Croatia, is now also expected to appear on the EU list.
EU commissioner for financial services Maria Luís Albuquerque said the Commission had updated the EU list, “reaffirming our strong commitment to align with international standards, particularly those set by the Financial Action Task Force”.
The updated EU list will be reviewed by the European Parliament and member states. If no objections are raised, the changes will come into force within a month, according to the Commission.
Monaco’s government issued a statement acknowledging the expected inclusion and expressed its commitment to implementing necessary reforms to be removed from the FATF grey list “in the near term”.
