Riyadh angered at EU terror-funding blacklist proposal

Saudi Arabia has expected regret that the European Union added it on a blacklist of countries that don't do enough to fight terror funding.

MENA

3 min read

The New Arab & agencies

13 February, 2019

Brussels has proposed adding Saudi Arabia to the EU blacklist [AFP]

Saudi Arabia expressed "regret" over EU proposals to add the country to its money-laundering blacklist of governments that do too little to thwart the financing of terrorism and organised crime, state media said Thursday.

"Saudi Arabia notes with regret the European Commission proposed revised list of 'high risk' countries," reported the official Saudi Press Agency.

Riyadh is being considered for the blacklist "despite several measures of reinforcement of its legal framework which has led to increased cooperation with its counterparts," the report added.

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed adding seven countries including Saudi Arabia to the European Union's money-laundering blacklist of governments that do too little to thwart the financing of terrorism and organised crime.

The move comes as tensions between Riyadh and European capitals are heightened over the murder last year of the columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

"Saudi (Arabia) that has ironically invested much of it's on PR efforts into tarnishing Qatar's reputation based on terror finance allegations, has provided little less than narrative to show it's actually clamping down on illicit financial stream [Sic]", said Dr Andreas Krieg, assistant professor at King's College London on his Twitter page.

The proposal must now be approved by the European Parliament and the 28 member states, with France and Britain likely to vote against the new list.

The new countries targeted by the commission, including Saudi Arabia and Panama, would join another 16 already on this register -- such as Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Ethiopia and North Korea.

Inclusion on the list does not trigger sanctions, but it does oblige European banks to apply tighter controls on transactions with customers and institutions in those countries.

"We have put in place the highest standards in the world in the fight against money laundering," said European Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova.

"But we must ensure that dirty money from other countries does not end up in our financial system," she told a press conference at the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg.

"Dirty money is the driving force behind organised crime and terrorism," Jourova continued, urging countries on the list to "quickly remedy their shortcomings".

A diplomat said objections to the new list were not linked to fallout from the Khashoggi murder and a desire to appease Saudi Arabia.

There is not "an opposition to the addition of a particular country", but concerns over the "methodology" used.

MEP Eva Joly, a former investigating judge, welcomed the new list but suggested the commission "publish the country assessments in order to increase the transparency of the process and avoid accusations of political bargaining."

European countries such as Cyprus or the United Kingdom should also be on the list, she said.