(1)

The Union must effectively protect the integrity and proper functioning of its financial system and the internal market against money laundering and terrorist financing. Directive (EU) 2015/849 provides that the Commission is to identify third-country jurisdictions that have strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes that pose significant threats to the Union’s financial system (‘high-risk third countries’).

(2)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 (2) identifies such high-risk third countries.

(3)

Considering the high level of integration of the international financial system, the close connection of market operators, the high volume of cross-border transactions to and from the Union, and the degree of market openness, any AML/CFT threat posed to the international financial system is also a threat to the Union’s financial system.

(4)

In accordance with Article 9(4) of Directive (EU) 2015/849, the Commission has taken into account recent available information, in particular public statements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) made in June and October 2025, the FATF list of ‘Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring’, and the FATF reports of the International Cooperation Review Group on the risks posed by individual third countries and jurisdictions.

(5)

The FATF has updated its list of ‘Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring’. At its plenary meetings in June and October 2025, the FATF added Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands to that list, and removed Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania from that list.

(6)

Bolivia made a high-level political commitment in June 2025 to work with the FATF and the Grupo de Acción Financiera de Latinoamérica (GAFILAT), which is its FATF-style regional body (FSRB), to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime. Since the adoption of its mutual evaluation report (MER) in December 2023, Bolivia has made significant progress on certain actions recommended in the MER, including enhancing its money laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (TF) risk understanding; enhancing the production and dissemination of operational and strategic financial intelligence; strengthening the seizure and forfeiture of criminal proceeds; increasing capacity to investigate TF offences; and improving its process to implement targeted financial sanctions on TF and proliferation financing (PF). Bolivia will continue to work with the FATF to implement its FATF action plan by ensuring that relevant special investigative techniques can be used in ML investigations; implementing risk-based supervision of real estate agents, lawyers, accountants and dealers in precious metals and stones (DPMS); ensuring that beneficial ownership information is accurate and up-to-date and breaches to the related obligations are sanctioned; and increasing ML investigations and prosecutions. While recognising and welcoming the commitment and progress made by Bolivia so far, and encouraging further efforts, the Commission considers that Bolivia has not yet fully addressed the strategic deficiencies that led to its addition to the FATF’s list of ‘Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring’. Bolivia should therefore be considered a high-risk third country.

(7)

The British Virgin Islands made a high-level political commitment in June 2025 to work with the FATF and the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), which is its FSRB, to strengthen the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime. Since the adoption of its MER in November 2023, the British Virgin Islands has made significant progress on certain actions recommended in the MER, including increasing requests for international cooperation; establishing a CFT strategy and enhancing the analytical processes to identify TF cases; conducting a risk assessment of the non-profit organisations (NPO) sector and identifying the specific NPOs at risk of TF abuse; improving coordination, outreach and training to implement TF and PF-related targeted financial sanctions; and enhancing supervision and monitoring of implementation of targeted financial sanctions by financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs). The British Virgin Islands will continue to work with the FATF to implement its FATF action plan by enhancing risk-based supervision of trust and company service providers (TCSPs), investment businesses and virtual asset service providers (VASPs); ensuring that accurate and up-to-date beneficial ownership information is available to competent authorities and breaches to the related obligations are sanctioned; improving the quality of suspicious activity reports (SARs) and ensuring that reporting is in line with risk; systematically pursuing ML investigations and prosecutions in accordance with the risk they pose; increasing the seizure and confiscation of criminal proceeds; and operationalising the new asset management framework. While recognising and welcoming the commitment and progress made by the British Virgin Islands so far, and encouraging further efforts, the Commission considers that the British Virgin Islands has not yet fully addressed the strategic deficiencies that led to its addition to the FATF’s list of ‘Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring’. The British Virgin Islands should therefore be considered a high-risk third country.

(8)

Accordingly, Bolivia and the British Virgin Islands should be added to the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675.

(9)

The Commission has reviewed the progress made by Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania in addressing the strategic deficiencies in their respective AML/CFT regimes. Those jurisdictions are listed as high-risk third countries by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675.

(10)

The FATF has welcomed the significant progress made by Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania in improving their AML/CFT regimes. The FATF has also noted that those jurisdictions have set up legal and regulatory frameworks to meet the commitments in their respective action plans on the strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF. Therefore, the FATF removed Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania from its list of ‘Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring’ in June and October 2025. Consequently, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania are no longer subject to the FATF’s monitoring process under its ongoing global AML/CFT compliance process and will continue to work with their FSRBs to further strengthen their AML/CFT regimes.

(11)

Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania have strengthened the effectiveness of their AML/CFT regimes and addressed technical deficiencies to meet the commitments in their action plans on the strategic deficiencies identified by the FATF. The Commission therefore considers that Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania no longer have strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes. It is therefore appropriate to remove Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Tanzania from the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675.

(12)

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 should therefore be amended accordingly,