Financial crime watchdog adds Croatia to 'grey list' of countries under scrutiny

FATF, is an inter-governmental organisation that underpins the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.

The FATF international financial crime watchdog on Friday said it had added EU member state Croatia to its so-called "grey list" of countries under special scrutiny, adding that Cameroon and Vietnam were also added to the list.

The move makes Croatia the only EU country on the list, which also includes the United Arab Emirates, Panama and Mali, and comes in response to deficiencies in the country's prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing.

T. Raja Kumar, the organisation's chairman, told journalists Croatia had committed to an action plan to improve its compliance and urged the country to implement this plan "as soon as possible".

Croatia's action plan, among other things, includes "assessing risks associated with the misuse of legal persons and legal arrangements and the use of cash in the real estate sector", the watchdog said in a statement.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which this week held one of its regular plenary meetings, is an inter-governmental organisation that underpins the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing by setting global standards and checking if countries respect them.

The body on Friday also reiterated that "all jurisdictions should be vigilant to current and emerging risks from the circumvention of measures taken against the Russian Federation in order to protect the international financial system".

The FATF had suspended Russia's membership in February.

The body on Friday also said that following the June meeting, no current member of the grey list had been removed.