EU to block dirty money blacklist that includes Riyadh following Saudi king's letter

A unanimous majority of European Union member states have moved to block a new EU money-laundering blacklist that includes Saudi Arabia and several US territories, following an appeal by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The procedure to block the blacklist, which was originally adopted in line with previously-agreed EU rules to prevent money laundering, was launched on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The Financial Times has also reported that 27 of the EU's total 28 countries, led by the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, have pushed to block publication of the list.

A majority of 21 states is needed to veto the EU blacklisting regulation.

Individual EU states are expected to clarify their positions on the matter in a Friday meeting in the Belgian capital of Brussels. A formal decision will be made in the next two weeks.

Diplomatic sources said Riyadh and Washington have pressured the EU to scrap the list.

Saudi King Salman has reportedly written letters to all EU leaders appealing against the oil-rich kingdom's blacklisting.

The listing “will damage its reputation on the one hand and it will create difficulties in trade and investment flows between the Kingdom and the European Union on the other,” the Saudi monarch wrote.

Saudi attempts to stall the blacklist intensified during a joint summit between EU and Arab League leaders in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier this week where Salman reportedly discussed the matter with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

On Wednesday, all EU ambassadors in Saudi Arabia were also summoned to the Saudi Finance Ministry to discuss the matter.

The unanimous bid to block the new blacklist comes as the oil-rich kingdom, which has been accused of war crimes in its war on Yemen, heavily relies on imported arms from the EU.

PressTV-'EU arms sales to Saudi, UAE since 2015 total $86 billion'

European countries have approved arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE worth more than $86.7 billion since 2015, figures compiled by Middle East Eye show.

Britain and France, which are among Saudi Arabia's main sources of weaponry, have resisted calls to cease sales to the country.

Germany has, however, enforced an arms embargo to the dismay of Britain, which claims the embargo is harming the UK arms industry.

UK lashes out at Germany over Saudi arms sales ban

British FM Hunt has warned his German counterpart that Berlin’s refusal to sell arms to Riyadh is harming the UK arms industry.

The embargo has, nonetheless, only slightly hampered ongoing European arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

This week, Airbus decided to redesign its C295 military transport aircraft built in Spain to remove German components in order to avoid the German ban.

FATF mounting pressure on Iran

Europe's indifference towards Saudi crimes in Yemen and its bid against the new EU blacklist come as many European states have insisted that Iran needs to adopt regulations approved by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) against money laundering.

The FATF's blacklist includes Iran but not Saudi Arabia or any US territories, which have been included in the opposed EU blacklist. The US territories are Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa and Puerto Rico.

European signatories of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal have called on Iran to join the FATF before a new payment mechanism circumventing US unilateral sanctions, officially called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), takes effect.

Iranian critics of INSTEX say the Europeans have conditioned its implementation to Iran joining the FATF.

The Paris-based body has warned that if Iran fails to enact the remaining legislation based on FATF’s standards by June 2019, the FATF will “require increased supervisory examination for branches and subsidiaries of financial institutions based in Iran.”

PressTV-FATF extends suspension of its measures against Tehran

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering body, has given Iran until June to fully adopt remaining financial reforms for . 

Opponents of the FATF believe adopting the body's regulations has so far proven to be futile in attracting foreign investment and may also further expose various institutions to extraterritorial regulations and penalties.

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