Corruption, Deception, and Illicit Financial Practices | Overview of UK Regulatory Landscape June 2025
The European Commission has recently updated the list of high-risk third countries under the Fourth Money Laundering Directive (MLD4), reflecting changes in the effectiveness of countries' anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regimes.
As of June 2025, the updated list includes the following jurisdictions: Algeria, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, and Venezuela.
Notably, the list has seen the removal of Panama, the United Arab Emirates, Cambodia, Morocco, and several others due to improvements in their AML/CFT regimes. Two countries added most recently are Nigeria and South Africa, while Cambodia and Morocco were delisted.
This list is based on the European Commission's delegated regulation, which aligns with the findings of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The updated list comes into effect after necessary confirmation steps by EU institutions.
Entities covered by the AML/CFT framework are required to apply enhanced vigilance in transactions involving the countries on the updated list of high-risk third-country jurisdictions.
In the UK, the Regulatory Outlook series, published by our firm, provides high-level summaries of important forthcoming regulatory developments in various sectors, including AML/CFT. The series is designed to help in-house lawyers, compliance professionals, and directors navigate the fast-moving business compliance landscape.
In related news, the UK government has allocated additional funding of more than £8 million to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) over the next three years. The SFO plans to use this funding to expand its investigative reach, strengthen its ability to recover criminal assets, and increase its capability to trace crypto assets. The total SFO budget will be £98 million per year by 2028/2029.
The European Commission's continuous monitoring and updating of this list underscore the importance of maintaining robust AML/CFT frameworks. The updated list will now be scrutinized by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
Countries like the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran, Myanmar, and Syria remain subject to separate financial sanctions with enhanced measures due to higher risks beyond the AML list.
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Businesses and financial entities operating in Europe should exercise enhanced vigilance when dealing with transactions involving countries on the updated list of high-risk third-country jurisdictions, which includes Nigeria and South Africa. The European Commission's continuous monitoring and updating of this list highlight the importance of maintaining robust anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) frameworks.
