SECTION 2 Third-country policy and money laundering and terrorist financing threats from outside the Union

1.   Third countries with significant strategic deficiencies in their national AML/CFT regimes shall be identified by the Commission and designated as ‘high-risk third countries’.

2.   In order to identify third countries as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 85 to supplement this Regulation, where:

Those delegated acts shall be adopted within 20 calendar days of the Commission ascertaining that the criteria in point (a), (b) or (c) of the first subparagraph are met.

3.   For the purposes of paragraph 2, the Commission shall take into account calls for the application of enhanced due diligence measures and additional mitigating measures (‘countermeasures’) by international organisations and standard setters with competence in the field of preventing money laundering and combating terrorist financing, as well as relevant evaluations, assessments, reports or public statements drawn up by them.

4.   Where a third country is identified in accordance with the criteria referred to in paragraph 2, obliged entities shall apply enhanced due diligence measures listed in Article 34(4) with respect to the business relationships or occasional transactions involving natural or legal persons from that third country.

5.   The delegated act referred to in paragraph 2 shall identify among the countermeasures listed in Article 35 the specific countermeasures mitigating specific risks stemming from each high-risk third country.

6.   Where a Member State identifies a specific money laundering or terrorist financing risk posed by a third country that the Commission has identified in accordance with the criteria referred to in paragraph 2 which is not addressed by the countermeasures referred to in paragraph 5, it may require obliged entities established in its territory to apply specific additional countermeasures to mitigate the specific risks stemming from that third country. The risk identified and the corresponding countermeasures shall be notified to the Commission within 5 days of the countermeasures being applied.

7.   The Commission shall review the delegated acts referred to in paragraph 2 on a regular basis to ensure that the specific countermeasures identified pursuant to paragraph 5 take account of the changes in the AML/CFT framework of the third country and are proportionate and adequate to the risks.

Upon receiving a notification pursuant to paragraph 6, the Commission shall assess the information received to determine whether country-specific risks affect the integrity of the Union’s internal market. Where appropriate, the Commission shall review the delegated acts referred to in paragraph 2, by adding the necessary countermeasures to mitigate those additional risks. Where the Commission considers that the specific additional measures applied by a Member State under paragraph 6 are not necessary to mitigate specific risks stemming from that third country, it may decide, by means of an implementing act, that the Member State shall put an end to the specific additional countermeasure.

1.   Third countries with compliance weaknesses in their national AML/CFT regimes shall be identified by the Commission.

2.   In order to identify the third countries referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 85 to supplement this Regulation, where:

Those delegated acts shall be adopted within 20 calendar days of the Commission ascertaining that the criteria in point (a) or (b) of the first subparagraph are met.

3.   The Commission, when drawing up the delegated acts referred to in paragraph 2 shall take into account, as a baseline for its assessment, information on jurisdictions under increased monitoring by international organisations and standard setters with competence in the field of preventing money laundering and combating terrorist financing, as well as relevant evaluations, assessments, reports or public statements drawn up by them.

4.   The delegated act referred to in paragraph 2 shall identify the specific enhanced due diligence measures among those listed in Article 34(4), that obliged entities shall apply to mitigate risks related to business relationships or occasional transactions involving natural or legal persons from that third country.

5.   The Commission shall review the delegated acts referred to in paragraph 2 on a regular basis to ensure that the specific enhanced due diligence measures identified pursuant to paragraph 4 take account of the changes in the AML/CFT framework of the third country and are proportionate and adequate to the risks.

1.   The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 85 to supplement this Regulation by identifying third countries where in exceptional cases it considers it indispensable to mitigate a specific and serious threat to the Union’s financial system and the proper functioning of the internal market posed by those third countries, and which cannot be mitigated pursuant to Articles 29 and 30.

2.   The Commission, when drawing up the delegated acts referred to in paragraph 1, shall take into account in particular the following criteria:

3.   For the purposes of determining the level of threat referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission may request AMLA to adopt an opinion aimed at assessing the specific impact on the integrity of the Union’s financial system due to the level of threat posed by a third country.

4.   Where AMLA identifies that a third country other than those identified pursuant to Articles 29 and 30 poses a specific and serious threat to the Union’s financial system, it may address an opinion to the Commission setting out the threat it has identified and why it believes that the Commission should identify the third country pursuant to paragraph 1.

Where the Commission decides not to identify the third country referred to in the first subparagraph, it shall provide a justification thereof to AMLA.

5.   The Commission, when drawing up the delegated acts referred to in paragraph 1, shall take into account in particular relevant evaluations, assessments or reports drawn up by international organisations and standard setters with competence in the field of preventing money laundering and combating terrorist financing.

6.   Where the identified specific and serious threat from the third country concerned amounts to a significant strategic deficiency, Article 29(4) shall apply and the delegated act referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall identify specific countermeasures as referred to in Article 29(5).

7.   Where the identified specific and serious threat from the third country concerned amounts to a compliance weakness, the delegated act referred to in paragraph 1 shall identify specific enhanced due diligence measures among those listed in Article 34(4), that obliged entities shall apply to mitigate risks related to business relationships or occasional transactions involving natural or legal persons from that third country.

8.   The Commission shall review the delegated acts referred to in paragraph 1 on a regular basis to ensure that the countermeasures referred to in paragraph 6 and enhanced due diligence measures referred to in paragraph 7 take account of the changes in the AML/CFT framework of the third country and are proportionate and adequate to the risks.

9.   The Commission may adopt, by means of an implementing act, the methodology for the identification of third countries pursuant to this Article. That implementing act shall set out, in particular:

The implementing act referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 86(2).

1.   By 10 July 2027, AMLA shall issue guidelines defining the money laundering and terrorist financing risks, trends and methods involving any geographical area outside the Union to which obliged entities are exposed. AMLA shall take into account, in particular, the risk factors listed in Annex III. Where situations of higher risk are identified, the guidelines shall include enhanced due diligence measures that obliged entities shall consider applying to mitigate such risks.

2.   AMLA shall review the guidelines referred to in paragraph 1 at least every 2 years.

3.   When issuing and reviewing the guidelines referred to in paragraph 1, AMLA shall take into account evaluations, assessments or reports of Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, international organisations and standard setters with competence in the field of preventing money laundering and combating terrorist financing.