Eritrea Country Summary
Higher Risk
View full Ratings TableSanctions
Higher Concern
FATF AML Deficient List
Medium Concern
Terrorism
Medium Concern
Corruption
Higher Concern
US State ML Assessment
Lower Concern
Criminal Markets (GI Index)
Medium Concern
EU Tax Blacklist
Lower Concern
Offshore Finance Center
Lower Concern
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Anti Money Laundering
FATF Status
Eritrea is not on the FATF List of Countries that have been identified as having strategic AML deficiencies
Compliance with FATF Recommendations
The last Mutual Evaluation Report relating to the implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards in Eritrea was undertaken in 2025. According to that Evaluation, Eritrea was deemed Compliant for 0 and Largely Compliant for 4 of the FATF 40 Recommendations. It was assessed Highly Effective for 0 and Substantially Effective 0 with regard to the 11 areas of Effectiveness of its AML/CFT Regime.
Sanctions
Multiple countries maintain active sanctions against Eritrea: the United States (OFAC), the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, targeting Eritrean military officials, the ruling-party-linked entities, and individuals tied to human rights abuses or regional conflicts. These measures include asset freezes, travel bans, and trade restrictions, while UN sanctions are currently none as they were lifted in 2018, and Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the Arab League have no active autonomous measures.
Criminality
Rating |
0 (bad) - 100 (good) |
|---|---|
| Transparency International Corruption Index | NA |
| World Bank: Control of Corruption Percentile Rank | NA |
Eritrea faces significant challenges related to crime and corruption, with laws in place to criminalize corruption among public officials, yet the government's lack of transparency raises questions about their enforcement. The country experiences high levels of petty corruption at the local level, while serious issues such as human trafficking, smuggling, and organized crime persist, often involving state-embedded actors like the People's Front for Democracy and Justice and the military.
The resilience to crime in Eritrea is undermined by a weak judicial system and a lack of independent oversight, leading to a climate of impunity and widespread corruption. Civil society is virtually non-existent, with restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, leaving citizens without support mechanisms to address grievances or report crimes.
Economy
Eritrea's economy presents significant challenges for foreign investment, particularly from the U.S., due to stringent government controls, a lack of a commercial code, and economic sanctions. The state dominates the economy, with most large enterprises either state-owned or controlled by the ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), while the private sector consists mainly of small, family-owned businesses. Furthermore, the national currency is non-convertible, and there are severe restrictions on profit repatriation, making the investment climate highly unfavorable and opaque, with little transparency or legal recourse for investors.
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