Blacklist grows

Strasbourg – The European Commission added Saudi Arabia and Panama to a blacklist of nations it considers a threat because of lax controls on terrorism financing and money laundering, the European Union (EU) executive said.

The move is part of a crackdown on money laundering after several scandals at EU banks, but it has been criticised by several EU countries, including Britain, that are worried about their economic relations with the listed states, notably Saudi Arabia. The US has also disapproved.

The Saudi government said in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency that it regretted the decision. Panama said it should be removed from the list because it recently adopted stronger rules against money laundering.

Despite pressure to exclude Riyadh from the list, the commission decided to list the kingdom.