The European Commission will add Panama, the Bahamas and Mauritius to its list of countries that present financial risks due to failures in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, according to the draft of a document seen by . Reuters news agency

The document, which will be formally released on Thursday, May 7, expands an existing sanctioning list but does not include Saudi Arabia and the territories of the United States, which had been added to a previous list, before being filed after foreign pressure.

The countries on the list "pose significant threats to the financial system of the European Union," says the draft of the document alluded to by Reuters , which is still subject to change.

In June 2019, Panama again entered the gray list of the Financial Action Group (FATF) due to the lack of effectiveness in the fight against money laundering.

Despite the progress made in recent years in strengthening the legislative framework on the prevention of money laundering, the lack of effectiveness in combating this crime led Panama to the list of the agency.

The Commission is also about to list Barbados, Botswana, Cambodia, Ghana, Jamaica, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe.

The draft decision brings the current list of 16 to 22 jurisdictions to be closely monitored, although the highest scrutiny will only apply from October, according to the document, a lenient approach the Commission said was due to disruptions caused by the current coronavirus pandemic.

The countries that were already on the list are Afghanistan, Iraq, Vanuatu, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Uganda, Trinidad and Tobago, Iran, and North Korea.

Everyone except North Korea has pledged to change its rules to pursue money laundering and terrorist financing.