EU Adds Monaco and Venezuela to Money Laundering Blacklist as Debate Rages Over Russia and UAE

The European Union has officially added Monaco and Venezuela to its blacklist of high-risk jurisdictions for money laundering and terrorism financing, placing the wealthy Mediterranean enclave in the same category as countries like Syria, Myanmar, and Burkina Faso.

The updated list, published after nearly a week of delay, also includes Algeria, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Namibia, and Nepal. Meanwhile, the European Commission removed the United Arab Emirates, Gibraltar, Barbados, Jamaica, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal, and Uganda from the list. Russia, however, was notably absent once again.

The timing and content of the announcement had sparked significant speculation due to the delay in publication. Despite the high level of political sensitivity surrounding the issue, the final document reflects the same draft that had been circulated the previous week.

The blacklist is designed to identify jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing systems. The inclusion of Monaco follows longstanding concerns from the international community, including allegations that millions of euros in illicit funds linked to Russian oligarchs, as exposed by whistleblower Sergey Magnitsky, have been funneled through the principality. According to the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, despite extensive reporting on the matter, Monaco has failed to launch proper investigations into these financial flows.

The Commission’s decisions have already drawn pushback from several corners of the European Parliament. While lawmakers had previously blocked an attempt to remove the UAE from the list, this time around opposition softened slightly. The change came after the Emirates issued written commitments to improve judicial cooperation with the EU and Europol. A recent parliamentary mission to the UAE further helped ease concerns.

Still, some Members of the European Parliament remain unconvinced. German Greens MEP Rasmus Andresen criticized the move, saying, “the UAE has made insufficient progress,” and warned that a trade agreement with the Emirates could “allow criminals to funnel illicit funds back into our financial system.”

The exclusion of Russia also continues to be a point of contention. Although the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has yet to place Moscow on its own blacklist, largely due to resistance from the BRICS bloc, some EU lawmakers believe it is time for Brussels to act independently. Czech MEP Luděk Niedermayer of the European People’s Party recently urged the European Commission in internal discussions to “seriously consider” adding Russia to the blacklist.

The European Commission typically mirrors the FATF’s recommendations. FATF, founded in 1989 by the G7, had already identified Monaco as a jurisdiction with significant weaknesses in anti-money laundering controls but acknowledged that the country has committed to reforms.

The decision to remove Gibraltar also caused friction, particularly among members of the Spanish center-right, who expressed dissatisfaction with the move. The EU’s Financial Services Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque is now expected to engage formally with lawmakers to defend the Commission’s rationale. She has already held weeks of informal bilateral meetings in an effort to build support for the final list.

As geopolitical and economic considerations continue to influence the EU’s stance on financial transparency, the updated blacklist reveals ongoing tensions between trade ambitions and the enforcement of anti-money laundering standards.

By fLEXI tEAM