State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine https://www.fiu.gov.ua/ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/predstavniki-ukrajini-berut-uchast-u-60-mu-plenarnomu-zasidanni-komitetu-ekspertiv-radi-Jevropi-z-oczinki-zaxodiv-protidiji-vidmivannyu-koshtiv-ta-finansuvannyu-terorizmu-MONEYVAL.html During September 16 - 18, 2020, the representatives of Ukraine, under the chairmanship of the SFMS, are taking part in the 60th MONEYVAL Plenary meeting which, due to restrictions caused by... News 2020-09-16 09:31:00 During September 16 - 18, 2020, the representatives of Ukraine, under the chairmanship of the SFMS, are taking part in the 60th MONEYVAL Plenary meeting which, due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, is held in “hybrid” mode. During the Plenary meeting, the draft 5th round Mutual Evaluation Reports on the Slovak Republic and Georgia are considered and decisions are taken. The SFMS representative took part in the mutual evaluation of the national AML/CFT system of the Slovak Republic. During the Plenary meeting, the issues of the agenda are discussed, in particular: fifth round follow-up report of the Isle of Man; fourth round follow-up reports of Romania and Bosnia and Herzegovina; quality, consistency and horizontal issues in MONEYVAL mutual evaluations; typologies research topics 2020-2021; information on AML/CFT initiatives on other forums; appointment of the Rapporteur Teams for the follow-up reports to be considered at the 61st Plenary. For reference: The SFMS has received and accepted an invitation from the MONEYVAL Secretariat to participate in the Rapporteur Team for the 2nd Albania’s Follow-up report, which will be considered during the 61st MONEYVAL Plenary meeting. ___________________________________ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/predstavnik-derzhfinmonitoringu-vzyav-uchast-u-yakosti-eksperta-u-onlajn-treningu-organizovanomu-akademijeyu-pravooxoronnix-organiv-pri-generalnij-prokuraturi-respubliki-kazaxstan.html During September 8-10, 2020, the SFMS’s representative has participated as an expert in online training on «Bases and modern effective methods of counteracting to legalization of the proceeds from... News 2020-09-11 12:31:00 During September 8-10, 2020, the SFMS’s representative has participated as an expert in online training on «Bases and modern effective methods of counteracting to legalization of the proceeds from crime». The mentioned event was organized by the Law Enforcement Academy under the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan. During the workshop, the expert representative of Ukraine has acquainted the employees of the law enforcement authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the modern information and analytical tools of information analysis and shared the experience on financial investigations, having presented the most common schemes of legalization of illegal proceeds. The main purpose of the training was to improve the counteracting to legalization of the illegal proceeds and the investigation on financial crimes, using modern information technology and international cooperation. ________________________________________ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/komitet-MONEYVAL-vidznachaje-progres-ukrajini-u-sferi-protidiji-vidmivannyu-koshtiv-ta-finansuvannyu-terorizmu.html MONEYVAL published the 2nd Follow-up report of Ukraine within the 5th round of mutual evaluations. Ukraine became one of the first MONEYVAL countries that reported on their progress to MONEYVAL... News 2020-08-31 10:51:00 MONEYVAL published the 2nd Follow-up report of Ukraine within the 5th round of mutual evaluations. Ukraine became one of the first MONEYVAL countries that reported on their progress to MONEYVAL virtually under the so-called “written” procedure due to the pandemic COVID-19 and restrictions imposed in this regard. The results achieved in the second Follow-up report have been preceded by coordinated and productive work of the Government and the Parliament, which led to the adoption of a new profile Law, which implements the norms of the main international AML/CFT obligations of Ukraine. It’s an important indicator for Ukraine to increase the rating of compliance and to achieve positive assessment of compliance with FATF Standards regarding Recommendation 5 and Recommendation 35. International experts’ outcomes noted that Ukraine has largely implemented counter-terrorist financing rules, as well as increased sanctions for breaches the AML/CFT legislation, having identified them as appropriate, dissuasive and deterrent. At the same time, MONEYVAL continues to monitor Ukraine in terms of improvement the ratings in the following directions: new technologies (Recommendation 15); targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism & terrorist financing (Recommendation 6); targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation (Recommendation 7); regulation and supervision of DNFBPs (Recommendation 28); national statistics in AML/CFT area (Recommendation 33). As the Head of the SFMS Igor Cherkaskyi noted: «The successful approval of the 2nd Follow-up report, despite the restrictions caused by COVID-19, is the result of a purposeful and irreversible course of Ukraine to the highest international AML/CFT standards». The text of the 2nd Follow-up report can be found at the following links: English version Ukrainian version (unofficial translation).   ________________________________ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/prijnyato-novi-uryadovi-postanovi-z-pitan-finansovogo-monitoringu.html At the meeting on August 5, 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a number of regulations aimed at implementing the requirements of the new Law of Ukraine «On Preventing and... News 2020-08-06 16:13:00 At the meeting on August 5, 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a number of regulations aimed at implementing the requirements of the new Law of Ukraine «On Preventing and Counteracting to Legalization (Laundering) of the Proceeds from Crime, Financing of Terrorism and Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction». The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine together with the SFMS with the relevant stakeholders took part in the development of these regulations. Thus, in order to implement the legislation in the AML/CFT area according to the requirements of the 33rd FATF Recommendation, the Government resolution has approved the Procedure for forming and publication of comprehensive administrative reporting in the AML/CFT area. In addition, the Government has approved the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the National Bank of Ukraine On approval the Procedure for collecting, processing and analysing information concerning the results of activity of reporting entities, other state authorities of prevention and counteraction system, approval and publication of the results of the national risk assessment and implementation of measures following its results. Also, the resolution «On approval of the Procedure for forming a list of states (jurisdictions), that don’t implement or improperly implement the recommendations of international, intergovernmental organizations involved in the area of combating to legalization (laundering) of the proceeds from crime, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction» was adopted. The implementation of the resolution will ensure compliance with international standards in the AML/CFT area, in particular the 19th FATF Recommendation. Reference:  Previously, in pursuance of the requirements of the new Basic Law, the Government has adopted: - Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as of July 22, 2020 № 622 «On approval of the Procedure for forming the list of persons related to terrorist activity or persons to whom international sanctions were applied»; - Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as of July 22, 2020 № 627 «Some issues of the Unified State Information System in the area of prevention and counteraction to legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction»; - Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as of July 29, 2020 № 653 «On amendments to the Regulation on the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine»; - Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine as of July 29, 2020 № 654 «On amendments to some resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine».   ________________________________________ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/Informuvannya-pro-rezultati-roboti-derzhfinmonitoringu-za-I-pivrichchya-2020-roku.html The SFMS as a financial intelligence unit of Ukraine, takes enhanced measures aimed at counteraction to the legalization (laundering) of the proceeds from crime, terrorist financing and financing of... News 2020-07-21 09:14:00 The SFMS as a financial intelligence unit of Ukraine, takes enhanced measures aimed at counteraction to the legalization (laundering) of the proceeds from crime, terrorist financing and financing of proliferation of weapon of mass destruction. In particular, for the 1st half of 2020, the SFMS has prepared 468 referrals (of them 221 case referrals and 247 additional case referrals) which have been submitted to: - the Prosecutor’s offices of Ukraine – 45 referrals (of them 8 case referrals and 37 additional case referrals); - the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine - 81 referrals (of them 17 case referrals and 64 additional case referrals); - the Security Service of Ukraine - 121 referrals (of them 50 case referrals and 71 additional case referrals); - the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine – 125 referrals (of them 77 case referrals and 48 additional case referrals); - the National Police of Ukraine - 85 referrals (of them 67 case referrals and 18 additional case referrals); - the State Bureau of Investigations 10 referrals (of them 1 case referral and 9 additional case referrals); - the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine 1 case referral. In these referrals, the amount of financial transactions that may be related to the legalization of funds and the commission of another criminal offence, defined by the Criminal Code of Ukraine, is UAH 44,8 billion. The SFMS pays special attention to investigation of money laundering facts of corrupt acts, embezzlement and appropriation of state funds and property. Thus, for the 1st half of 2020, the SFMS has submitted 97 such referrals (19 case referrals and 78 additional case referrals) to law enforcement authorities, in particular to: - the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine - 81 referrals (of them 17 case referrals and 78 additional case referrals); - the Prosecutor's offices of Ukraine – 4 additional case referrals; - the Security Service of Ukraine – 9 referrals (of them 1 case referral and 8 additional case referrals); - the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine – 1 additional case referral; - the National Police of Ukraine – 1 case referral; - the State Bureau of Investigations 1 case referral. In these referrals, the amount of suspicious financial transactions that may be related to the legalization (laundering) of funds or the commission of another criminal offense is UAH 2,7 billion. According to the legislation of Ukraine, the SFMS together with law enforcement agencies, takes measures aimed at preventing and countering the financing of terrorist activities and separatism. Thus, for the 1st half of 2020, the SFMS has submitted to law enforcement agencies 26 referrals (of them 11 case referrals and 15 additional case referrals) regarding financial transactions of persons which, according to information from law enforcement authorities, may be involved in the financing of terrorism (separatism) and/or conducted with the participation of persons, who publicly call for violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or change of boundaries of the territory or state border of Ukraine, including: - 10 referrals (of them 1 case referral and 9 additional case referrals) related to the implementation of financial transactions by individuals, whose identification data coincide with the identification data of the persons included in the List of Persons, related to the commission of terrorist activities or on which person’s international sanctions have been applied; - 1 referral related to the implementation of financial transactions by persons included in the annex 1 to the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated June 21, 2018 (enacted by Decree of the President of Ukraine dated June 21, 2018, No. 176/2018); - 7 referrals (of them 6 case referrals and 1 additional case referral) related to suspicions in the conduct of financial transactions by persons involved in the activities of the international terrorist group "Islamic State of Iraq and Levant" or other extremist groups; - 8 referrals (of them 3 case referrals and 5 additional case referrals) that may be associated with suspicion of financing illicit armed groups in the temporarily occupied territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Of the 26 submitted referrals, 6 referrals contained information on identified relationships with the Russian Federation. Mentioned referrals were sent to the Security Service of Ukraine. In order to increase the effectiveness of interagency cooperation, during the reporting period, the SFMS was coordinating measures for the implementation by the relevant state authorities of the Action Plan to improve the national financial monitoring system based on the MONEYVAL 5th round of mutual evaluation of Ukraine (hereinafter - the Action Plan). Thus, the SFMS has ensured a generalization of information provided by state and law enforcement authorities on the progress of the implementation of the Action Plan, and sent generalized information to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Within the framework of the SFMS coordination activity 9th meeting of the AML/CFT Council was held on 30.06.2020 in the SFMS premises. Representatives of all main stakeholders took part in the meeting. In particular, draft of the 2nd follow up report of Ukraine following the results of the 5th round of evaluation by MONEVAL and the results of the typological study for 2019 conducted by the SFMS were discussed at the meeting. In April Head of the SFMS Igor Cherkaskyi presented to the public the report on the results of the SFMS activities for 2019. Also, the SFMS published the survey on the Use of Non-Profit Organizations for Illegal Purposes. Also, in order to increase informing the public, the new SFMS web-portal began to operate at the address: https://fiu.gov.ua. The new website has a modern design and more user-friendly interface on Ukrainian and English, and provides accessibility for visually impaired users. According to the results of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine monitoring of the information content of official websites of state authorities conducted in the 1st half of 2020, the new official SFMS website is recognized as the best among the central executive authorities. 3rd meeting of the Public Council under the SFMS was held in 24.06.2020. Representatives of the SFMS informed members of the Public Council on the implementation of the state policy in 2019 in the AML/CFT sphere and the recent developments in the legislation to be adopted to be in line with the new AML/CFT Law. Within the framework of legislative initiatives, in order to implement the new legal provisions of the amended Law of Ukraine “On Prevention and Counteraction of Legalization (Laundering) of the Proceeds from Crime, Terrorist Financing and Financing the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction”, 34 drafts of legal acts have been developed by the SFMS during the 1st half of 2020 which are being accompanied. Moreover, the SFMS in conjunction with the supervisory authorities have prepared recommendation for the reporting entities (banking and non-banking institutions) on submitting information regarding financial transactions to the SFMS from 28.04.2020 (before new bylaws come into force). Within the framework of methodological work, the representatives of the SFMS participated in 31 educational events, which involved about 2762 persons during the 1st half of 2020. In order to provide educational services in the financial monitoring sphere and taking into account situation with COVID-19 and quarantine regime digital-platform on distance learning has been launched by the Academy on Financial Monitoring. The SFMS international cooperation direction has been implemented by participation, in particular: - in the meetings of the Information Exchange Working Group of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units; - in the working meeting with an EU-ACT representative to discuss the developments of the Guidance on conducting financial investigations, and the FIU's staff training plan; - in the face to face MONEYVAL assessors meeting to discuss the draft report of the Slovak Republic within the framework of the 5th Round of mutual evaluation procedure; - in virtual working meetings of the MONEYVAL within the framework of the 2nd Intersessional Consultation (22.05-10.07.2020). Additionally, the SFMS has sent to the MONEYVAL updated information to the 2nd follow-up report of Ukraine within the framework of the 5th Round of mutual evaluation procedure. The report had been considered as part of the 2nd Intersessional Consultation procedure before it was adopted. ____________________________________________ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/ukrajina-vijshla-z-ugodi-pro-stvorennya-radi-kerivnikiv-pidrozdiliv-finansovoji-rozvidki-derzhav-uchasnicz-spivdruzhnosti-nezalezhnix-derzhav.html According to the Decree of the President of Ukraine as of 07.07.2020 № 269/2020, Ukraine has withdrawn from the Agreement on the creation of the Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units... News 2020-07-09 15:05:00 According to the Decree of the President of Ukraine as of 07.07.2020 № 269/2020, Ukraine has withdrawn from the Agreement on the creation of the Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). At the same time, it should be noted that the SFMS remains a reliable partner of European institutions responsible for preventing and counteracting to legalisation (laundering) of the proceeds from crime, terrorist financing and financing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT). Currently, the SFMS accompanies the approval process on 2nd follow-up report of Ukraine following the results of the 5th round of mutual evaluation by MONEYVAL. In that way, despite the withdrawal of Ukraine from the mentioned Agreement, the SFMS will continue to be a reliable partner of the Council of Europe institutions, as well as an active participant in the events conducted under the aegis of leading international, intergovernmental institutions in the AML/CFT area, namely: Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), Egmont group of FIUs, European Union, International Monetary Fund, World bank, United Nations etc. ___________________________________________ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/oficzijnij-vebsajt-derzhfinmonitoringu-viznano-najkrashhim-sered-czentralnix-organiv-vikonavchoji-vladi.html According to the results of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine monitoring of the information content of official websites of state authorities... News 2020-07-07 12:20:00 According to the results of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine monitoring of the information content of official websites of state authorities (https://cutt.ly/voVh0LS) conducted in the first half of 2020, the official SFMS website is recognized as the best among the central executive authorities. It should be mentioned that the level of the information content of the official website has been assessed under the indicators of information availability, quality of information content which takes into account the level of completeness, relevance, navigation accessibility of information posted on the website as well as the availability of search function and the availability of information for the perception of persons with visual and hearing impairments. Furthermore, the assessment took into account the degree of information transparency and the dynamics of information transparency, which demonstrates whether the level of information transparency of the subject of power has changed. On this occasion, Head of the SFMS Igor Cherkaskyi noted that information transparency in the SFMS activity always remains an important component in cooperation with the public and the financial monitoring system participants. The SFMS official website (https://fiu.gov.ua/) was created by the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI), financed by the EU and co-financed and implemented by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and put into operation on March 16, 2020.  ___________________________________________ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/predstavniki-derzhfinmonitoringu-berut-uchast-u-virtualnix-robochix-zasidannyax-komitetu-ekspertiv-radi-Jevropi-z-oczinki-zaxodiv-protidiji-vidmivannyu-koshtiv-ta-finansuvannyu-terorizmu-MONEYVAL.html During June 30 – July 3, 2020, the SFMS representatives take part in MONEYVAL virtual working meetings, which take place in the framework of the 2nd Intersessional consultation of MONEYVAL (22 May -... News 2020-07-02 14:30:00 During June 30 – July 3, 2020, the SFMS representatives take part in MONEYVAL virtual working meetings, which take place in the framework of the 2nd Intersessional consultation of MONEYVAL (22 May - 10 July 2020). The decision concerning the 2nd Enhanced Follow-up Report of Ukraine in the framework of the MONEYVAL 5th round of mutual evaluation is adopted during this meeting. The 2nd Enhanced Follow-up Report was examined via written procedure in accordance with the Rules of Procedure for the 5th Round of Mutual Evaluations. Also, according to the agenda, the following issues are being considered during these meetings, in particular: impact of COVID-19 on MONEYVAL planning and operations; amendments to MONEYVAL Rules of Procedure for the 5th round of mutual evaluations; MONEYVAL Workplan for 2020-2022; MONEYVAL Guidance on conducting typologies work; COVID-19 related ML/TF risks and trends; regional operational plan to counter terrorist financing; typologies research topics for 2020-2021; procedures for conducting mutual evaluations, etc.  ________________________________________________ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/v-akademiji-finansovogo-monitoringu-vidbuvsya-dvodennij-mizhnarodnij-vebinar-dlya-pravooxoronnix-organiv.html On June 16-17, 2020, on the basis of the Digital Platform of the Academy of Financial Monitoring, a two-day international webinar on “Improving the work of law enforcement agencies during parallel... News 2020-06-18 12:30:00 On June 16-17, 2020, on the basis of the Digital Platform of the Academy of Financial Monitoring, a two-day international webinar on “Improving the work of law enforcement agencies during parallel financial investigations in Ukraine” organized by the EUAM Ukraine and the EU-ACT Project took place. In total, more than 150 participants - representatives of law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies, the SFMS, international organizations, specialized educational institutions, research institutions participated in the webinar. The MONEYVAL activities in the field of parallel financial investigations and the experience of evaluating countries in this direction were personally presented by the MONEYVAL Chairman Mrs. Elzbieta Frankow-Jaskiewicz. The speakers of the webinar were leading experts of international level with considerable experience in this field: Jose Manuel Colodras (Regional Coordinator of the EU-ACT Project in Ukraine), Oscar Rey (Investigating Judge (Spain)), Igoris Krzeckovskis (international expert on AML and assets recovery), František Sailer (Senior Financial Crimes Investigator, EUAM). The workshop focused on issues related to the mechanisms that allow financial experts to receive and exchange information, and discussed effective tools of assistance in conducting in foreign financial investigations. Also, the attention was focused on the importance to create and use joint expert groups by law enforcement agencies which would facilitate the establishment of business relations. ______________________________________________________ /en/pages/dijalnist/funkcional/news/analiz-pidozrilix-tranzakczij-u-podatkovij-sferi-czifri-ta-ostanni-tendencziji.html The State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine within the specifics of its activities, as a national financial intelligence unit, conducts analytical investigations in order to form suspicions of... News 2020-05-26 09:02:00 The State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine within the specifics of its activities, as a national financial intelligence unit, conducts analytical investigations in order to form suspicions of committing a number of predicate offences, which result in legalization (laundering) of proceeds from crime. The subject of investigations are criminal proceeds generated from corruption, human trafficking, drugs and weapons, terrorism and its financing, fraud, etc. At the same time, the SFMS pays constant attention to the analysis of suspicious transactions of money laundering, which have signs of tax crimes, as one of the types of predicate offences. In this regard, a number of large-scale financial investigations have been conducted, which have resulted in the submission of case referrals to law enforcement agencies. The practice of investigations shows that “services” for tax evasion and receipt of cash, which are provided by transit-conversion groups, are in demand among Ukrainian taxpayers. Tax evasion is carried out through the so-called "twists "(fictitious transactions related to VAT fraud), and wholesale and retail trade enterprises can be involved in receiving cash, which in turn “sale” unrecorded cash, conducting transactions of “counter flows”. It should be noted that the so-called “sale” of unrecorded cash is carried out outside the banking system, which complicates its detection. Under such conditions, the identification of such schemes is facilitated by other sources of information and cooperation with law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Since the beginning of 2020, the SFMS has submitted to law enforcement agencies 60 case referrals related to tax crimes using the mechanisms of “transit”, “twisting” and “counter flows”. The amount of money related to money laundering in these materials is UAH 29.9 billion. These case referrals were sent to: -          the Security Services of Ukraine - 34 case referrals worth UAH 16.3 billion; -          the State Fiscal Service - 21 case referrals worth UAH 7.3 billion; -          the Office of the Prosecutor General - 2 case referrals worth UAH 6.0 billion; -          the State Bureau of Investigations - 1 case referral worth UAH 0.2 billion; -          the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine - 1 case referral worth UAH 0.04 billion; -          the National Police of Ukraine - 1 case referral worth UAH 0.04 billion. In particular, based on the results of investigations into the activities of large-scale transit-conversion groups (with the participation of about 4,000 business entities), 31 case referrals with suspicions of forming an unjustified tax credit using the schemes of “twists”, “counter flows” and further legalization of criminal funds totaling UAH 13.6 billion were submitted to law enforcement agencies this year. During the analyzing of these case referrals, funds in the amount of UAH 28.2 million were blocked.   Separately, according to the results of the analysis of suspicious cash out transactions (involving about 4.5 thousand enterprises), since the beginning of 2020, the SFMS has submitted 28 case referrals with suspicion of money laundering for the total amount of UAH 13, 5 billion to law enforcement agencies.   Also, in this year, based on the results of financial investigations, a case referral was prepared and submitted to the law enforcement agency related to tax evasion through the organization of a “carousel” scheme of illegal export of grain and non-return of foreign exchange earnings to Ukraine for the total amount of UAH 2.8 billion. Thus, in January-May 2020, 60 case referrals with suspicions in the tax sphere for the total amount of UAH 29.9 billion were submitted to law enforcement agencies. At the same time, during 2019, the SFMS has submitted 893 case referrals to law enforcement agencies, in which the amount of financial transactions related to criminal proceeds and their laundering is UAH 92.2 billion, of which 137 case referrals worth UAH 26.9 billion are related to tax crimes. The SFMS continues to work closely with law enforcement agencies to identify tax fraud and tax evasion schemes.