There are a number of countries which frequently appear on sanctions list.
These are summarised below.
Introduction
| COUNTRY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Balkans | Ethiopia | Mali | Ukraine |
| Belarus | Haiti | Nicaragua | Venezuela |
| Burma | Iran | Russia | Yemen |
| Cuba | Iraq | Somalia | Zimbabwe |
| Darfur | Lebanon | South Sudan | |
| Drcongo | Libya | Syria |
We perform a country of risk assessment based on a number of criteria, as summarised below:
| CATEGORY | CRITERIA LIST |
|---|---|
| Category 7 | Watchlist Countries (excl. sovereign debt) |
| Category 6 | Non-FATF Co-operative (excl. sovereign debt) |
| Category 5 | Non OECD (excl Tax Havens) (excl. sovereign debt) |
| Category 4 | Category 5, 6 or 7 Sovereign Debt (excl. sovereign debt) |
| Category 3 | Tax Havens (OECD & EU) |
| Category 2 | Non OECD |
| Category 1 | Other |
Categories
Category 7: Watchlist countries
There are a number of countries which frequently appear on sanctions list. These are summarized below.
These are: Balkans (Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro), Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela.
Category 6: Non-FATF Co-operative
The FATF identifies jurisdictions with weak measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) in two FATF public documents that are issued three times a year:
- The first public document, the statement “High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action” (previously called “Public Statement”), identifies countries or jurisdictions with serious strategic deficiencies to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of proliferation.
- The second public document, the statement “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring” (previously called“Improving Global AML/CFT Compliance: On-going process”) identifies countries that are actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action – 21 February 2020
| COUNTRY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Jamaica | Nicaragua | Syria |
| Barbados | Jordan | Pakistan | Turkey |
| Burkina Faso | Mali | Panama | Uganda |
| Cambodia | Malta | Philippines | United Arab Emirates |
| Cayman Islands | Morocco | Senegal | Yemen |
| Haiti | Myanmar | South Sudan |
High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action – 21 February 2020
| COUNTRY | |
|---|---|
| Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) | Iran |
Category 5: Non-OECD (excl Tax Havens)
These are:
| # | Jurisdiction | # | Jurisdiction | # | Jurisdiction | # | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Afghanistan | 42 | Dominican Republic | 83 | Maldives | 124 | Saudi Arabia |
| 2 | Albania | 43 | Ecuador | 84 | Mali | 125 | Senegal |
| 3 | Algeria | 44 | Egypt | 85 | Malta | 126 | Serbia |
| 4 | Andorra | 45 | El Salvador | 86 | Marshall Islands | 127 | Seychelles |
| 5 | Angola | 46 | Equatorial Guinea | 87 | Mauritania | 128 | Sierra Leone |
| 6 | Antigua and Barbuda | 47 | Eritrea | 88 | Mauritius | 129 | Singapore |
| 7 | Argentina | 48 | Eswatini (fmr. "Swaziland") | 89 | Micronesia | 130 | Slovakia |
| 8 | Armenia | 49 | Ethiopia | 90 | Moldova | 131 | Solomon Islands |
| 9 | Azerbaijan | 50 | Fiji | 91 | Monaco | 132 | Somalia |
| 10 | Bahamas | 51 | Gabon | 92 | Mongolia | 133 | South Africa |
| 11 | Bahrain | 52 | Gambia | 93 | Montenegro | 134 | South Korea |
| 12 | Bangladesh | 53 | Georgia | 94 | Morocco | 135 | South Sudan |
| 13 | Barbados | 54 | Ghana | 95 | Mozambique | 136 | Sri Lanka |
| 14 | Belarus | 55 | Grenada | 96 | Myanmar (formerly Burma) | 137 | Sudan |
| 15 | Belize | 56 | Guatemala | 97 | Namibia | 138 | Suriname |
| 16 | Benin | 57 | Guinea | 98 | Nauru | 139 | Syria |
| 17 | Bhutan | 58 | Guinea-Bissau | 99 | Nepal | 140 | Tajikistan |
| 18 | Bolivia | 59 | Guyana | 100 | Nicaragua | 141 | Tanzania |
| 19 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 60 | Haiti | 101 | Niger | 142 | Thailand |
| 20 | Botswana | 61 | Holy See | 102 | Nigeria | 143 | Timor-Leste |
| 21 | Brazil | 62 | Honduras | 103 | North Korea | 144 | Togo |
| 22 | Brunei | 63 | India | 104 | North Macedonia | 145 | Tonga |
| 23 | Bulgaria | 64 | Indonesia | 105 | Oman | 146 | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 24 | Burkina Faso | 65 | Iran | 106 | Pakistan | 147 | Tunisia |
| 25 | Burundi | 66 | Iraq | 107 | Palau | 148 | Turkmenistan |
| 26 | Côte d'Ivoire | 67 | Jamaica | 108 | Palestine State | 149 | Tuvalu |
| 27 | Cabo Verde | 68 | Jordan | 109 | Panama | 150 | Uganda |
| 28 | Cambodia | 69 | Kazakhstan | 110 | Papua New Guinea | 151 | Ukraine |
| 29 | Cameroon | 70 | Kenya | 111 | Paraguay | 152 | United Arab Emirates |
| 30 | Central African Republic | 71 | Kiribati | 112 | Peru | 153 | United States of America |
| 31 | Chad | 72 | Kuwait | 113 | Philippines | 154 | Uruguay |
| 32 | China | 73 | Kyrgyzstan | 114 | Qatar | 155 | Uzbekistan |
| 33 | Comoros | 74 | Laos | 115 | Romania | 156 | Vanuatu |
| 34 | Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) | 75 | Lebanon | 116 | Russia | 157 | Venezuela |
| 35 | Croatia | 76 | Lesotho | 117 | Rwanda | 158 | Vietnam |
| 36 | Cuba | 77 | Liberia | 118 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 159 | Yemen |
| 37 | Cyprus | 78 | Libya | 119 | Saint Lucia | 160 | Zambia |
| 38 | Czechia (Czech Republic) | 79 | Liechtenstein | 120 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 161 | Zimbabwe |
| 39 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 80 | Madagascar | 121 | Samoa | ||
| 40 | Djibouti | 81 | Malawi | 122 | San Marino | ||
| 41 | Dominica | 82 | Malaysia | 123 | Sao Tome and Principe |
Category 3: Tax Havens
OECD List of Unco-operative Tax Havens
No jurisdiction is currently listed as an unco-operative tax haven by the Committee on Fiscal Affairs
EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes is a tool to tackle:
- Tax fraud or evasion: illegal non-payment or under payment of tax
- Tax avoidance: use of legal means to minimise tax liability
- Money laundering: concealment of origins of illegally obtained money
It lists non-EU countries that encourage abusive tax practices, which erode member states’ corporate tax revenues.
The list adopted by the Council on 24 February 2022 is composed of:
- American Samoa
- Fiji
- Guam
- Palau
- Panama
- Samoa
- Trinidad and Tobago
- US Virgin Islands
- Vanuatu
Category 2: Non-OECD but in EU
The following jurisdictions are in the EU, however, are Non-OECD members:
| COUNTRY |
|---|
| Bulgaria |
| Croatia |
| Republic of Cyprus |
| Malta |
| Romania |
Category 1: Other
EU High-Risk Third Countries
Based on Directive (EU) 2015/849, Article 9, the Commission is mandated to identify high-risk third countries having strategic deficiencies in their regime on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism. The aim is to protect the integrity of the EU financial system
The following jurisdictions are identified as having strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes:
| HIGH-RISK THIRD COUNTRY | DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 23 September 2016 |
| The Bahamas | 1 October 2020 |
| Barbados | 1 October 2020 |
| Botswana | 1 October 2020 |
| Cambodia | 1 October 2020 |
| Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) | 23 September 2016 |
| Ghana | 1 October 2020 |
| Iran | 23 September 2016 |
| Iraq | 23 September 2016 |
| Jamaica | 1 October 2020 |
| Mauritius | 1 October 2020 |
| Myanmar | 1 October 2020 |
| Nicaragua | 1 October 2020 |
| Pakistan | 22 October 2018 |
| Panama | 1 October 2020 |
| Syria | 23 September 2016 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 6 March 2018 |
| Uganda | 23 September 2016 |
| Vanuatu | 23 September 2016 |
| Yemen | 23 September 2016 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 October 2020 |