STRASBOURG: The European Commission has added Saudi Arabia, Panama, and Nigeria to a blacklist of nations, which have been seen as ‘threat’ because of lax controls on financing terrorism and money laundering.

The move has been dubbed as a ‘part of a crackdown’ on money laundering after several scandals at EU banks. This, however, has been criticized by some EU countries including Britain, which is worried about their economic relations with Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi government, meanwhile, said it regretted the decision. “Saudi Arabia’s commitment to combating money laundering,” it said.