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EU Adds Saudi Arabia to draft list on terrorist financing
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Reuters quoted two sources as saying that the European Union added Saudi Arabia to the draft list of countries that pose a threat to the bloc because of the loosening of control over the financing of terrorism and money laundering.
The move comes amid increasing international pressure on Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
The current list includes 16 countries, including Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and North Korea, based mainly on criteria used by the Financial Action Task Force, an international body of rich nations that fights money laundering and terrorist financing.
But the list was updated last week, using new standards the European Commission has been developing since 2017. Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that have been added to the updated list, which is still confidential, a source from the European Union and a Saudi source told Reuters.
Saudi authorities have yet to respond to a request for comment.
The move is a setback for Riyadh as it seeks to strengthen its international reputation to encourage foreign investors to participate in a massive transformation plan and improve the financial relations of its banks.
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post and a critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2, prompting widespread condemnation and damaging the image of the kingdom.
Besides the damage to its reputation, the inclusion of the Kingdom in the list would complicate financial relations with the European Union. The bloc's banks will have to conduct additional checks on payments involving entities from listed countries.
The 28-member EU interim resolution must be adopted before it is formally adopted next week.
Corporate ownership
Another EU official said other countries were likely to be added to the final list, but declined to give details because the information was still confidential and subject to change.
A spokesman for the European Commission said he had no comment on the content of the list because it had not yet been finalized.
The EU's current list states that countries are blacklisted if they have "strategic shortcomings in combating money laundering and countering terrorist financing regimes that pose significant threats to the financial system of the Union."
According to the new approach, States could also be blacklisted if insufficient information on corporate ownership was provided or if their rules on suspicious transaction reporting or financial client control were considered too lenient.
The Kingdom failed in September to become a member of the Financial Action Task Force after reaching a decision that it failed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
The government has taken steps to strengthen its efforts to tackle illicit graft and abuse of power, but the Financial Action Task Force said in September that Riyadh did not actively investigate or prosecute individuals involved in money laundering activities on a larger scale and did not confiscate proceeds of crime at home or abroad.
The EU examined 47 countries, including the United States, Russia and Switzerland, before updating its list. The bloc countries were not examined.
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