The Ukrainian Parliament initiated at the FATF the inclusion of the Russian Federation in the FATF “black list” and the exclusion of the aggressor country from the the FATF member countries.
The Ukrainian Parliament initiated at the FATF the inclusion of the Russian Federation in the FATF “black list” and the exclusion of the aggressor country from the the FATF member countries.
On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, threatening Ukraine’s statehood and territorial integrity.
At the same time, during the hostilities, the Russian Federation, its armed groups, as well as the supported by it armed groups of the so-called “DPR” and “LPR” (which are recognized in Ukraine as terrorist organizations) have repeatedly resorted to acts with signs of terrorist activity. Among the many such acts committed since the beginning of the full-scale Russian military aggression against Ukraine, it is worth noting as indisputable examples of actions against civilians who do not take part in hostilities during armed conflict.
In view of the above, on March 11, 2022, under the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, with the communication support of the SFMS, an appeal to the Finacial Action Task Force (FATF) (https://www.rada.gov.ua/news/Top-novyna/220362.html) was sent with the request to:
- include the Russian Federation in the FATF “black list”;
- exclude Russia from the FATF member countries as soon as possible.
The appeal notes that as long as Russia continues to finance terrorism at the state level, the state’s AML/CFT system does not work de facto.
This is the basis for the inclusion of the Russian Federation in the FATF “black list”.
At the same time, due to the obvious disregard for the requirements for the prevention of terrorist financing of the Russian Federation, this state should not be among the FATF member countries.
It should be noted that a separate appeal (https://www.rada.gov.ua/news/razom/220224.html) has also been published by members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, who stressed that the Russian Federation should not be among the FATF member states, following the violation of fundamental principles of international law, which have posed significant threats to the security and integrity of the world financial system, and in connection with the fact that the actions of the Russian Federation directly indicate violations of terrorist financing prohibition and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction regime.