EU fires laundering warning shot at Panama

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The European Commission (EC) has included Panama in a list of 23 countries with deficiencies in strategies against money laundering and terrorist financing.

“Being on this list means that we have concluded that making financial and banking transactions with these countries could expose the European financial system to high risks of money laundering and terrorist financing,” said  European Justice Commissioner Vera Jourová at a Wednesday press conference.

She said  inclusion is a “warning” and not “a system of sanctions”.

Besides Panama, the list of tax havens includes: Afghanistan, American Samoa, Bahamas, Botswana, North Korea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guam, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka , Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, the US Virgin Islands and Yemen.

The Commission explained that the purpose of the list was “to protect the EU financial system” by anticipating the risks, since from now on banks and other entities will be required to apply stricter checks on operations with these countries.

Among the criteria used by Brussels to prepare the list of non-collaborating countries are the “strategic deficiencies” in the fight against money laundering or financing, the legal prosecution of these activities, the competency of the national authorities or the exchange of information about the true identity of business owners and funds.

“Knowing who are the true owners of companies and funds is a key priority, but unfortunately, there are still many countries that do not share this crucial information with us,” said the chief executive of the Community.

The document must still be approved by the Member States and the European Parliament before being published in the Official Journal of the EU.

Jourová pointed out that this is a “sensitive” issue among European capitals, but she expressed confidence that the governments of the EU bloc will give their approval to the list, but some member states expressed doubts about the inclusion of some countries in the list.

“It’s a natural reaction to something new,” she said,