The European Union (EU) has blacklisted Ghana among several other countries for money laundering.
Three other African countries have been blacklisted – Botswana, Mauritius and Zimbabwe.
The EU said under the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD), the Commission has revised its list, taking into account developments at the international level since 2018 and that the “new list is now better aligned with the lists published by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force).”
The other affected countries are The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, along with Cambodia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Countries which have been delisted: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Guyana, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.
Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said: “We need to put an end to dirty money infiltrating our financial system. Today we are further bolstering our defences to fight money laundering and terrorist financing, with a comprehensive and far-reaching Action Plan. There should be no weak links in our rules and their implementation. We are committed to delivering on all these actions – swiftly and consistently – over the next 12 months. We are also strengthening the EU’s global role in terms of shaping international standards on fighting money laundering and terrorism financing.”
The Commission said that the new list will now be submitted to the European Parliament and Council for approval within one month, adding “given the coronavirus crisis, the date of application of today’s Regulation listing third countries – and therefore applying new protective measures – only applies as of 1 October 2020.”