GIBRALTAR: European Commission deletes Gibraltar from ‘high risk’ list after FATF decision

The European Commission on Thursday removed Gibraltar from its list of high-risk countries with “strategic deficiencies” in mechanisms to counter money laundering and terrorist financing.

The step came as the Commission updated its list based on information from the Financial Action Task Force, which late last month removed Gibraltar from its own “grey list” of high-risk countries.

The Commission’s decision was set out in a regulation published on Thursday that is binding and directly applicable in all EU member states.

The regulation also removed Barbados, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates from the EU list, in line with FATF decisions at its February plenary in Paris.

The Commission regulation notes that the FATF has welcomed the “significant progress” made by Gibraltar and the other countries that came off the grey list, and their commitment to further strengthen their anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing [AML/CFT] regimes.

“Following the measures implemented to address the action plans agreed with the FATF, Barbados, Gibraltar, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates have remedied the strategic deficiencies in their respective AML/CFT regimes and no longer pose a significant AML/CFT threat to the international financial system,” the Commission said in announcing the decision.

“Taking into account their relevance under the revised methodology, the Commission considers that these jurisdictions no longer have strategic deficiencies in their respective AML/CFT frameworks and do not pose a significant threat to the financial system of the EU.”

The Government of Gibraltar welcomed the Commission’s step, noting it had been taken “at the first opportunity”.

“The swift removal of Gibraltar from the European Commission’s list, subsequent to our white-listing by the FATF, serves as yet another validation of Gibraltar’s position as a reputable and trustworthy jurisdiction on the global stage,” said Nigel Feetham, Minister for Justice, Trade and Industry.

“We are grateful for this recognition and remain steadfast in our pursuit of maintaining and enhancing our jurisdiction’s standing in the international community.”