The European Commission maintains a list of countries that do not meet minimum thresholds for oversight against terrorism financing and money laundering. This list and its accompanying policies require European Banks to carry out additional checks on transactions that involve countries from the list. Being a member of the list also comes with damage to financial reputation, which must be balanced against the economic benefit of providing financial services in grey and illicit areas other nations will not. Most recently, Panama and Saudi Arabia were added to the list, which now includes 23 countries. The full list includes Afghanistan, American Samoa, the Bahamas, Botswana, North Korea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guam, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, the US Virgin Islands, and Yemen.
Source: EU adds Saudi Arabia, Panama to dirty-money blacklist
