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Bad News For Anti-Corruption War As EU Adds Nigeria To 'Dirty-Money Blacklist'

February 13, 2019

Being on the blacklist does not only constitute reputational damage, it will also complicate financial relations with the EU.

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Nigeria has been added to a blacklist of nations that pose global threat because of leniency as it relates to controlling financial activities of terrorists, as well as money laundering.

The European Commission also added Saudi Arabia, Panama, and other jurisdictions to the blacklist, the EU executive said on Wednesday.

According to Reuters, low sanctions against money laundering and financing terrorism, insufficient cooperation with the EU and lack of transparency regarding company beneficiaries, constitute the criteria used to blacklist countries.

Being on the blacklist does not only constitute reputational damage, it will also complicate financial relations with the EU, as the bloc’s banks will have to carry out additional checks on payments involving entities from listed jurisdictions.