In a letter addressed to the director of Transparency International, Michiel van Hulten, on Monday, October 24, 2022, the Financial Services Commissioner, Mairead McGuinness, confirmed the Commission's intention to add the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the European 'black' list of countries at high risk for money laundering.

Information on the WATER was made public on Friday, November 4 by an institution spokesperson. He recalled that “in accordance with the anti-money laundering directive, the list of countries of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) constitutes the reference base for the EU's list of high-risk third countries.” For him, “the European Commission has taken note of the UAE's inclusion in the FATF list” and will “act in accordance with the EU legal framework.”

FATF added the UAE to its list in March. The senior task manager on illicit financial flows at Transparency International explained that they “have known for many years that there are many problems in the UAE. There were a number of leaks from there, which showed that the rules relating to the fight against terrorist financing and money laundering were not being respected.”