European Commission moves to withdraw Mauritius from the list of high-risk third countries

The European Commission has published a delegated regulation on 7 January 2022 where it was confirmed that Mauritius has been removed from the list of high-risk third countries commonly known as the “EU Blacklist”.

Based on the recent removal of Mauritius from the FATF grey list achieved through firm commitment and prompt implementation of the FATF action plan, the Commission has concluded that Mauritius does not have strategic deficiencies anymore in its AML/CFT regime as per the criteria laid down in Directive (EU) 2015/849.

It should be noted that the European Council and Parliament have a scrutiny period of one month in order to object to this Act. If there is no objection, the Act will be published in the EU Official Journal and it will enter into force 20 days after publication.

This confirmation by the European Commission comes after Mauritius was removed from the FATF list of countries subject to increased monitoring on 21^st October 2021. Shortly after, the United Kingdom had also removed Mauritius from its list of high-risk countries under the UK Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 3) (high-risk countries) Regulations 2021.

The EU move further validates a series of bold and in-depth measures adopted by the jurisdiction to enhance its regulatory regime to global standards and will undoubtedly help in boosting investor confidence in using the Mauritius International Financial Centre as a trusted platform for global transactions.

Nexus CEO Nitin Collappen commented: “Though it was only a matter of time before the EU also removed Mauritius from its blacklist on the basis of our commitment to improving measures in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, this is excellent news for the jurisdiction. Mauritius will further prove itself to be an effective and compliant jurisdiction for EU and other investors looking to do business in a region where opportunities abound.”