Gibraltar slams “totally unsubstantiated” Russia claims as European parliament blocks EU AML delisting
Online gambling hub argues process has been “poisoned by politics” as government insists its FATF delisting will not be impacted by decision in Brussels
The Gibraltar government has claimed the European parliament’s obstinance to remove the peninsula from the EU’s high-risk third countries list is a decision “poisoned by politics”.
Last week, the European parliament voted against the European Commission’s (EC) decision to remove certain jurisdictions, including Gibraltar, from the EU’s list of countries identified as having strategic deficiencies in their regimes on anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT).
The EC’s decision to remove the British Overseas Territory from the EU list came after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – the Paris-based dirty money watchdog – elected to scrub Gibraltar from its own list in February.
In a statement, the Gibraltar government said the EC’s decision came after an “evidence-based consultation with the European Commission’s Expert Group on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing” (MONEYVAL).
However, the European parliament decided to back a motion for a resolution filed earlier in April which saw Gibraltar, Barbados, Panama, Uganda and the UAE removed from the EU’s AML and CTF list.
Gibraltar’s statement claimed the European parliament’s view was “clearly not the result of any technical assessment [nor] is it the product of any in-depth evaluation or investigation into the work of the Gibraltarian authorities”.
Instead, the parliament’s position is “poisoned by politics” and “promulgated by hostile Partido Popular, Vox and Ciudadanos actors within the European Parliament, including José Manuel Garcia-Margallo MEP”.
Partido Popular and Vox are right-wing political parties in Spain, while Ciudadanos is based in Catalonia and strongly opposes independence for the autonomous region.
Last year, ahead of Spain’s general election, Vox threatened to “suffocate” Gibraltar by closing the border, according to comments reported by The Independent.
Included in the European parliament’s decision to retain Gibraltar on the list was a reference to the jurisdiction’s role in failing to support sanctions imposed on Russia in relation to its invasion of Ukraine.
Point J from the motion for a resolution reads: “There is important and recent evidence suggesting that the UAE, Gibraltar and Panama lack efforts in addressing, or even facilitate the evasion of, sanctions imposed on Russia, including targeted financial sanctions on individuals, as a response to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
“Those countries may act as platforms for circumvention of sanctions for Union entities, directly or indirectly, thus undermining the Union’s efforts in stopping the Russian war machine.”
The Gibraltar government said it was “seriously concerned” by the reference, slamming the claims as “fiction [that] could not be further from reality”.
A spokesperson said: “This baseless, totally unsubstantiated and gratuitous accusation is, in itself, reflective of the value which should be attached to the European parliament’s decision.
“The government will not allow Gibraltar’s good name to be remotely associated with efforts to support Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and it will therefore be raising this claim at the highest political level.
“The government will call on the European Commission to adopt a new decision removing Gibraltar from the EU’s list, and it would expect this decision to be taken promptly.”
The Gibraltar government confirmed the European parliament’s decision would have no impact on the FATF ruling from earlier in the year.
Gibraltar came off the watchdog’s list in June 2022 after significantly improving its AML and CTF processes.
Additionally, officials added that the developments would not have any effect on the ongoing negotiations relating to Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU.