The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Gibraltar and Panama will remain a part of Europe’s list of countries with significant deficiencies related to Anti-money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), after voting of the European Parliament last week. A proposal from March called for the removal of the aforementioned countries, identified for their high-risk and strategic AML/CFT deficiencies, from the aforementioned list.
The effort was led by the European Commission (EC), which supported the removal of Gibraltar, UAE and Panama from the list, while at the same time adding Namibia and Kenya to the so-called “grey list.” Despite the support of the EC for the removal of the three countries from the AML/CFT list, during a vote on April 23, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted overwhelmingly in opposition to the proposal. Some 490 MEPs supported a motion that rejected the EC’s proposal to remove the three countries from the grey list, while only 64 MEPs voted in favor. Another 56 abstained from the vote.
The latest announcement came at a time when the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international policy-making and standard-setting body dedicated to fighting money laundering and terrorist financing activities, decided to remove Gibraltar, which is recognized as a leading gambling hub, from its grey list. The FATF’s decision came back in February, recognizing the country’s dedication toward AML and CTF regulations. By exiting the grey list, Gibraltar is no longer a part of the countries that undergo increased monitoring. Yet, despite the removal of the country from the FATF’s grey list, it remained a part of the same high-risk list in Europe.
The Country’s Government Disagrees with the European Parliament
It’s no surprise that the MEPs decision was faced with dissatisfaction from the Gibraltar government. In a statement, the government explained it was “disappointed” with the decision of the European Parliament that rejected the proposal of the EC to remove Gibraltar from the high-risk list of countries.
The government acknowledged the importance of the removal of the country from FATF’s list, highlighting that the MEPs decision doesn’t’ affect this fact. Moreover, the Gibraltar government explained: “In sharp contrast, the European Parliament’s view is clearly not the result of any technical assessment.”
Another concerning point raised by the country’s government is that the MEPs decision was pushed by politics. “Instead, it is a position poisoned by politics, promulgated by hostile Partido Popular, Vox and Ciudadanos actors within the European Parliament, including Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo MEP,” Gibraltar’s government wrote in its recent statement.