Ghana and three other African countries have been blacklisted by the European Union for money laundering.
Botswana, Mauritius, and Zimbabwe are the three other African countries blacklisted.
The EU in a statement said under the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD), the Commission has revised its list, taking into account developments at the international level since 2018 and that the “new list is now better aligned with the lists published by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force).”
Other nations blacklisted are The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, along with Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Meanwhile, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Guyana, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia have been delisted.
Speaking on the development, Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said: “We need to put an end to dirty money infiltrating our financial system. Today we are further bolstering our defenses to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, with a comprehensive and far-reaching action plan. There should be no weak links in our rules and their implementation. We are committed to delivering on all these actions – swiftly and consistently – over the next 12 months. We are also strengthening the EU’s global role in terms of shaping international standards on fighting money laundering and terrorism financing.”
