On 5 December 2023, HM Treasury (HMT) published the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (High-Risk Countries) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1306).
This statutory instrument amends the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/692) (the MLRs) by substituting the List of High-Risk Third Countries (in respect of which extra customer due diligence measures must be taken by relevant persons under the MLRs) in Schedule 3ZA for a new list.
The changes reflected in the updated list include:
- Albania, Cayman Islands, Jordan and Panama are no longer classed as high-risk third countries for the purposes of enhanced customer due diligence requirements in regulation 33(1) of the MLRs.
- Bulgaria, Cameroon, Croatia, Nigeria, South Africa and Vietnam are now classed as high-risk third countries for the purposes of enhanced customer due diligence requirements in regulation 33(1) of the MLRs.
SI 2023/1306 came into force on 5 December 2023.