Saudi Arabia among 16 countries in draft list of terrorism financing states, along with five other Islamic countries

BRUSSELS: The Euro­pean Commission has unveiled EU draft list of 16countries posing threat to bloc.

Saudi Arabia has been added to an EU draft list of countries that pose athreat to the bloc because of lax controls against terrorism financing andmoney laundering, two sources said on Friday.

The move comes amid heightened international pressure on Saudi Arabia afterthe murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbulconsulate on Oct 2.

The EU’s list currently consists of 16 countries, including Iran, Iraq,Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and North Korea, and is mostly based on criteriaused by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body composed bywealthy nations meant to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.

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But the list has been updated this week, using new criteria developed bythe EU Commission since 2017.

Saudi Arabia is one of the countries added to the updated list which isstill confidential, one EU source and one Saudi source said. Saudiauthorities did not immediately respond to request for comment.