Canada enhances control over financial transactions related to Russia

The directive mandates that every financial transaction connected to Russia, regardless of its size, be treated as high-risk, imposing enhanced obligations for proper verification, monitoring, and record-keeping of such financial transactions.

It applies to all transactions originating from or destined for Russia, encompassing transfers involving national and virtual currencies.

"We welcome Canada's bolstering of control over financial operations linked to Russia. As of today, directives from Canada's Finance Minister under the law combating money laundering and terrorism financing have been applied to transactions with three countries - North Korea, Iran, and since February 24 of the current year, Russia. Essentially, Canada, without waiting for consensus within FATF (Financial Action Task Force - ed.) regarding the issue of sanctioning Russia, has effectively equated Russia with countries on FATF's blacklist," says Ukraine's Finance Minister, Serhii Marchenko.

FATF declined to blacklist Russia.

Inclusion in the blacklist would place Russia alongside North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar. This would require FATF member states, as well as banks and payment processing companies, to conduct enhanced due diligence and, in the most serious cases, take countermeasures to safeguard the international financial system.