According to a European Commission update released yesterday, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Gibraltar from its list of high-risk jurisdictions, after years of pushback form the peninsula.
The list compiles high‑risk jurisdictions which present strategic deficiencies in their national anti‑money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.
Since 2022, the British Overseas Territory has been considered a Jurisdiction under Increased Monitoring, alongside Malta. Within that year, the Gibraltar government committed to complying with FATF action plan in a timely manner.
An extensive FATF review found Gibraltar was under increased monitoring across two areas: pursuing regulatory sanctions and pursuing final confiscation judgements.
In May 2024, the territory came close to being almost immediately removed after an evaluation by Moneyval reported “significant” progress in addressing compliance deficiencies identified in earlier assessments.
However, despite implementing all 40 FATF recommendations and the Commission agreeing to remove Gibraltar from the “grey list”, this action was denied by the European parliament in early 2024. Stakeholders put this down to influence from right-wing Spanish parliamentarians.
Only now has the Commission and FATF deemed it appropriate to remove Gibraltar from the grey list.
“The updated list considers the work of the FATF and its list of ‘Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring’,” the Commission said. “As a founding member of FATF, the Commission is closely involved in monitoring the progress of the listed jurisdictions, helping them to fully implement their respective action plans agreed with FAFT.
“Alignment with FATF is important for upholding the EU´s commitment to promoting and implementing global standards.”
What’s next for Gibraltar?
Gibraltar’s removal is once again at the mercy of the European parliament approving the new list.
But, writing on his LinkedIn, Selwyn Figueras, Gibraltar-based lawyer and partner at local firm Hassans, said: “at least the Commission is making the right noises – to cast the ramblings of the others into sharper focus still!”
Minister for Justice, Trade and industry in Gibraltar, Nigel Feetham said of the move: “We are grateful to the European Commission and its senior officials for their decision today. While this marks an important step forward, our work is not over. We will redouble our effort. We won’t let up.”
FATF also drops UAE and Philippines from grey list
The Commission and FATF also removed several other countries from the latest version of the high-risk jurisdictions list.
Notable absences include the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines. Barbados, Jamaica, Panama, Senegal and Uganda were also removed from the grey list.
However, there were also a number of new additions to the FATF’s list. These include Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela.
In the same statement, the Commission acknowledged concerns raised over the methods it uses to determine the regularly updated list. The Gibraltar government was open with its criticism of these techniques following last year’s update.
“The Commission has carefully considered the concerns expressed regarding its previous proposal and conducted a thorough technical assessment, based on specific criteria and a well‑defined methodology, incorporating information collected through the FATF, bilateral dialogues and on‑site visits to the jurisdictions in question,” the Commission said.
Gibraltar missed out on being removed from the list in 2024 due to the opposition of some Spanish MEPs. The update will face European Parliament approval once again.