The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine believes that adding Russia to the FATF blacklist will significantly increase the cost of doing business with the Russian Federation and will effectively deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of the opportunity to finance the war.
As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Finance, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhii Marchenko told about this in a column for the Financial Times. He emphasized that "this is probably the most effective tool for limiting terrorists' access to the world economy."
"We call on the FATF to expel Russia from the organization and blacklist it. This is perhaps the most effective tool for limiting terrorists' access to the global economy, as it forces all states to apply enhanced due diligence on any transaction involving the jurisdiction's financial system , blacklisted. Sanctions are introduced by individual jurisdictions and implemented by their subjects," the message reads.
According to the Minister of Finance, adding Russia to the FATF blacklist will create universal control and conditions for strengthening due diligence. Any transaction with the Russian financial sector will be reviewed and scrutinized. This will significantly increase the cost of doing business with Russia and effectively deprive Putin of the opportunity to finance an illegal war of aggression. It is noted that this month FATF members will gather in Paris to consider further measures against the Russian Federation on a symbolic date - a year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Numerous investigations have implicated Russia in money laundering, a situation that has only worsened with the introduction of wide-ranging sanctions following the full-scale invasion.
"Russia is responsible for criminal cyber threats to critical infrastructure. Its war against Ukraine is exacerbating the global energy crisis and significantly increasing food prices, causing enormous damage to the world, especially developing countries. Russia is not just undermining the global economic system. It is holding us everyone is being held hostage. We need to counter it," the message reads.
According to Marchenko, the European Union, the G7 and all other countries committed to a rules-based international order must now recognize the risks that Russia poses to the stability of the global financial system. It is also necessary to take measures to include the Russian Federation in the list of "jurisdictions with a high level of risk" and to create appropriate market recommendations.
As a reminder, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental body tasked with developing and promoting anti-money laundering strategies at both the national and international levels. Thus, the group is a "strategy-making body", an activity which is aimed at forming the necessary political will to reform the national legislation and regulatory system in order to combat money laundering.
