EU to blacklist Russia over money laundering — Politico
Photo: EU to blacklist Russia for money laundering (Getty Images)
The European Union will add Russia to its blacklist of countries with a high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing, Politico reports.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) suspended Russia's membership after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but did not include it on the blacklist despite evidence presented by the Ukrainian government due to resistance from the BRICS countries, which include Brazil, India, China, and South Africa.
EU lawmakers have repeatedly called on the European Commission to do what the FATF failed to do.
The Commission pledged to complete the review by the end of 2025 to gain their support for removing the United Arab Emirates and Gibraltar from the list earlier this year.
In other internal documents, the European Commission noted that the assessment was complicated by the lack of information exchange with Moscow.
The European Union already has a wide range of sanctions that significantly restrict Russian companies' access to EU financial services.
Being blacklisted will force financial institutions to strengthen their due diligence on all transactions and will force banks that have not yet taken action to further reduce their risks.
The EU usually aligns itself with FATF decisions, but as of this year, it has its own anti-money laundering body. AMLA will participate in compiling the blacklist from July 2027.
FATF refuses to blacklist Russia
In June 2022, Russia was excluded from the governing bodies of the FATF, the Global Anti-Money Laundering Task Force.
The organization recognized Russia's military actions against Ukraine as contrary to the organization's core principles, which are aimed at promoting the security and integrity of the global financial system.
At the same time, Ukraine called on the FATF to blacklist Russia for financing terrorism.
However, the FATF has repeatedly refused to include Russia on the black or even gray list, despite Ukraine providing evidence of Moscow's involvement in financing terrorism and cooperating with the regimes of Iran and North Korea.
In October 2024, it was reported that the FATF was to decide on adding Russia to its blacklist. However, this did not happen.
