The European Union has added 12 countries to its money-laundering blacklist, putting their financial transactions under greater scrutiny.
They include Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius and Zimbabwe.
Others are Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Cambodia, Mongolia and Myanmar.
Once approved by the European parliament the list will come into force in October.
Valdis Dombrovskis, the commission’s vice-president said, the EU needed to put an end to dirty money infiltrating its financial system.
Of the 22 blacklisted countries, only North Korea has refused to commit to trying to tackle the problem, the BBC reported
The decision by the EU, Reuters reported, seeks to intensify scrutiny of states posing money-laundering risks. It added that the EU is looking into creating a new body to help police financial crime and monitor banks more strictly.
The EU explained the countries “pose significant threats to the financial system of the Union” because of failings in tackling money laundering and terrorism financing, the Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, “Banks and other financial and tax firms will be obliged to scrutinise more closely their clients who have dealings with these countries. Companies in listed states are also banned from receiving new EU funding”.
By BBC & Reuters
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