First, some background. The EU “list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes,” or “grey list,” forms part of the bloc’s effort to fight tax evasion. The EU maintains a list of countries with “strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) frameworks.” Gibraltar was included in 2022, to the consternation of the local financial services industry. Since then, all our efforts to reverse that inclusion have been defeated, not least by the resistance of a few unsympathetic MEPs.

‍

The EU’s positive decision to de-list Gibraltar now follows a similar move by the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) from its own schedule over a year ago. That we continued to feature in the EU list for a year longer was a source of frustration and not just because of the potential harm to our reputation. Listing can lead to practical issues such as difficulties encountered when establishing banking relationships.

‍

By October 2023, FATF had acknowledged that Gibraltar had made “significant progress” in addressing the previously identified strategic deficiencies. This led to the European Commission undertaking its own assessment, which concluded that, indeed, Gibraltar had done enough to be removed from the EU’s list too. 

‍

The latest news has, of course, removed a great deal of uncertainty. Much of the credit is due to the Gibraltar Government for its persistent efforts coupled with continuous, strenuous activity by the industry. Taken together, they demonstrated that our jurisdiction, while small, should retake its place in the top league alongside the other major players across the international financial services industry. And both the EU and FATF now agree.

‍

Following the announcement. Gibraltar’s Minister for Trade, Justice and Industry The Hon. Nigel Feetham said: “The news today that the European Parliament has rejected objections to the update of the EU list brings an end to the uncertainty about Gibraltar's merited delisting which should have happened over a year ago following our delisting by the FATF. This is testament to the work undertaken by my Ministry to bring Gibraltar to the vanguard of the fight against money laundering and counterterrorist financing, and Gibraltar’s reputation as a world-leading financial centre has been rightfully restored.”

‍

Back to my headline. Why am I not donning my town crier outfit and shouting from every Gibraltar rooftop about this? It is, after all, something important to celebrate, right? Well of course. But for me, these developments have simply returned Gibraltar to the status quo. I do not wish to take anything away from the magnificent, tireless efforts made that secured our de-listing – and I am delighted by the fact. However, I am one of those who believe strongly that we should never have been included on the list in the first place. Now we are back. As we should be. As we should have been all along. 

‍

Notwithstanding the whys and wherefores, the de-listing clearly ties in very well with the recent announcement that the EU and UK have agreed terms on the future relationship with Gibraltar. This will lead to historic changes coming soon and all this is unquestionably good news. 

‍

For Acquarius too, the first half of 2025 has been momentous. We are better placed than ever to offer our services worldwide. Our partnerships with firms both locally and across the world have added a far wider geographic scope to traditional sources of business introduced by the professional sector in London. Fresh from our local MBO announced earlier this month, our growing team continues to engage with contacts old and new as they have done for over 25 years. 

‍

For more information on how we might help you or your clients now that Gibraltar has been removed from both the EU and FATF lists, please reach out to us. You will find experienced, friendly and multi-skilled people who are most definitely not grey in any respect.