The list of nations, numbering 152, was compiled by the independent Basel Institute, which placed Finland at the top, followed by Estonia, Slovenia, Lithuania and New Zealand. Portugal is meanwhile ahead of countries like Britain, ranked 28th, or Spain, which came in at 45.
Compared to the previous year, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mozambique and Uganda remain almost unchanged at the top of the Basel AML Index 2015 risk rating. Although Cambodia and Swaziland are still among the top 10 highest risk countries in the index, they have seen the greatest improvement in their scores.
Finland and Estonia remain the lowest risk countries based on the data. Their risk rating, which is still below the risk threshold of 3.3, indicates a strong compliance level, high public and financial transparency and low levels of corruption.