After Saudi king’s letter, EU states move to block Commission’s dirty-money list

The adoption of a European Union money-laundering blacklist, which includes Saudi Arabia as well as Puerto Rico and three other US territories, is likely to be blocked by EU states under a procedure launched on Thursday (28 February), two EU sources said.

The potential blocking comes after Saudi Arabia’s King Salman sent letters to all EU leaders urging them to reconsider the inclusion of Riyadh on the list, one of the letters seen by Reuters showed.

For the list to be blocked, a majority of 21 states is estimated to be necessary. One EU official said that more than 20 countries, including Britain, France and all the largest members, have already declared their opposition to the listing.

“An overwhelming majority” of EU states oppose the list, another official said. A meeting of national experts in Brussels on Friday is expected to clarify each of the 28 EU states’ positions on the matter, before a decision is formalized in the next two weeks.

The listing of the Saudi kingdom “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,” King Salman wrote.

Oil-exporting Saudi Arabia is a major importer of EU weapons and goods.

One diplomat said Washington has also pressured EU countries to scrap the list.

The US Treasury Department said when the list was approved by the European Commission that the listing process was “flawed” and it rejected the inclusion of the four US territories of American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam.