Ukraine reacted with fury over a decision by the world’s anti-money laundering watchdog to keep Russia off its “blacklist.”
Kyiv, which has long campaigned for Russia to be on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) register for the worst economic crime offenders, said it is “disappointing” that several countries rejected its inclusion on the list in an October vote.
“Russia has displayed both the capacity and intent to engage in activities harmful to FATF member states and the FATF’s mission,” said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine and presidential commissioner for sanctions policy.
FATF sets the global standards for anti-money laundering and terrorist financing. Blacklisting requires financial institutions that do business with such countries to conduct far greater due diligence on the original sender and beneficiary of any payment that involves the state.
The anti-money laundering body’s blacklist currently comprises of Iran, Myanmar and North Korea, while there are 24 countries on the “gray list” — which refers to states under increased monitoring for financial crime issues —including Algeria, Kenya and Syria.
Russia was suspended by FATF last year, which released a statement condemning its invasion of Ukraine, but Kyiv has pushed since April 2022 for the country to be on the blacklist.
However, a vote among FATF members on Oct. 25 failed, with countries including China, India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, voting against the motion, according to a report in Reuters.
“FATF member states again failed to recognize the threat that Russia poses to global security and the global financial system, demonstrated by its malicious cyberattacks, economic warfare and destabilizing activities worldwide and in FATF member states,” said Vlasiuk.
His government also released a statement lamenting the lack of consensus by member countries.
Ukraine’s supporters say it’s proof that the body is “fractured” and unable to react to global crises.
“Like all multilateral organizations in this day and age, the FATF is fractured in matters of geopolitics,” said Tom Keatinge, the director of the center for finance and security at the Royal United Services Institute.
“If international bodies like the U.N. and the FATF won’t take action then the U.S., EU and other countries that reject the sort of illegal action taken by Russia will need to press much harder with sanctions. It’s time to take the gloves off,” Keatinge added.
Nicki Kenyon, a former senior intelligence officer at the United States Treasury Department who currently works at the Institute for Financial Integrity in Washington, D.C. also questioned Russia’s exclusion from the list.
“FATF’s mission is to protect the global financial system. And there is an enormous amount of evidence that Russia is actually undermining those efforts, and undermining the integrity of the global financial system,” she said.
FATF did not respond to a request for comment.
