The European Union (EU) Commission announced that Sri Lanka has been kept on its blacklist of governments at risk of money laundering and terrorist financing this week.
Sri Lanka has been added to the list as a “high-risk” third country, which means the EU will not have to carry out additional checks on payments involving entities from the island.
The commission said it added jurisdictions with "strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing regimes". Criteria used to blacklist governments reportedly includes “weak sanctions against money laundering and terrorism financing, insufficient cooperation with the EU on the matter and lack of transparency about the beneficial owners of companies and trusts”.
Vera Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality said:
“We have established the strongest anti-money laundering standards in the world, but we have to make sure that dirty money from other countries does not find its way to our financial system. Dirty money is the lifeblood of organised crime and terrorism. I invite the countries listed to remedy their deficiencies swiftly. The Commission stands ready to work closely with them to address these issues in our mutual interest. ”
See more here.
Sri Lanka was added to the list last year.