The European Union has added Saudi Arabia to its growing list of countries that lack tight control over money laundering and terrorism financing.
If all 28 European Union member states ratify the move, it will mean that European banks have to place tighter controls on transactions made with individuals or institutions from Saudi Arabia.
“We have established the strongest anti-money laundering standards in the world, but we have to make sure that dirty money from other countries does not find its way to our financial system,” Vera Jourova, the European commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality, said in a statement. “Dirty money is the lifeblood of organized crime and terrorism.”