Russia’s membership in the FATF remains suspended. Results of the FATF Plenary meeting with the participation of the SFMS
During June 19-23 this year, the SFMS, with the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI) project, participated in the FATF Working groups meetings and the Plenary meeting, which took place in Paris, French Republic.
During the Plenary meeting a number of issues related to the global AML/CFT/CPF measures taken by the FATF and its members have been discussed, namely:
- Working groups’ activity reports (ICRG, GNCG, RTMG, ECG);
- RF’s membership in FATF;
- mutual evaluation report of Luxembourg; etc.
According to the FATF official information, following the results of the FATF Plenary meeting, the FATF once again reiterates its deepest sympathies to the people of Ukraine for the needless loss of life and destruction of infrastructure and society as a result of the Russian Federation’s ongoing military invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues to run counter to FATF’s principles of promoting security, safety and the integrity of the global financial system and the commitment to international cooperation and mutual respect upon which FATF Members have agreed to implement and support the FATF Standards. The suspension of the membership of the Russian Federation continues to stand.
The FATF, following the statements issued in March, April, June and October 2022, in February 2023, once again reiterates that all jurisdictions should be alert to possible emerging risks from the circumvention of measures taken in order to protect the international financial system and take the necessary measures to mitigate these risks.
It is worth recalling that according to the FATF Statement adopted in February, the FATF is deeply concerned by the reports of arms trade between the Russian Federation and United Nations sanctioned jurisdictions, and malicious cyber-activities emanating from Russia.
Separately, the FATF continues to pay attention to monitoring global risks of ML/FT/PF for the international financial system.
Within the framework of the meetings, the SFMS held a number of bilateral meetings with the delegations of FATF member countries and other participants of the Plenary, where it established/deepened relevant working contacts and provided reasoned information explaining the need for further joint actions to protect the international financial system, including from the risks posed by the RF.
After the FATF Plenary meeting, the Head of the SFMS, Igor Cherkaskyi emphasized the tangible progress in the convergence of positions with a number of delegations, which is aimed to build consensus decisions in the future. In addition, Igor Cherkaskyi noted that remaining in force the decision of suspension of RF’s membership in FATF is a signal to ensure international financial security uniting all members of the Global Network on the basis of fairness and mutual respect.
The SFMS will continue to take focused measures to respond to the ML/TF/PF risks and threats posed by the RF, as well as imposing sanctions on the aggressor country.