By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
THE Financial Action Task Force (FATF) president has explained why it has maintained its suspension of Russia rather than placing the country on its blacklist.
At its latest plenary, which concluded yesterday, FATF announced updates to its ‘grey list’ of countries under increased scrutiny. The Philippines was removed, while Nepal and Laos were added. The organization also confirmed that Russia remains suspended.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged FATF to blacklist Russia. Such a move would restrict Russia’s access to financial markets and make it harder to fund its invasion of Ukraine. However, FATF has opted to suspend Russia’s membership instead.
FATF President Elisa de Anda explained the distinction. “The suspension of the Russian Federation, which is unprecedented, is different than any process of greylisting or blacklisting,” she said at a FATF press conference in response to a question from AML Intelligence.
She clarified that greylisting and blacklisting result from identified deficiencies in a country’s financial system. “There is a process to follow with the jurisdiction to make sure they address them,” she added. “So they are independent processes, and there is no connection (with) one from the other.”
FATF suspends Russia
FATF has previously described Russia’s suspension as one of the strongest measures it can take against a member. Ms de Anda reinforced this point. “The fact that the Russian Federation is suspended means it’s isolated from the work that we do,” she said.
She noted that Russia cannot participate in meetings, hold leadership positions, or influence FATF policy. Despite this, FATF’s most recent statement on Russia, issued in February 2024, reiterated that the country remains responsible for implementing FATF standards.
In its statement announcing Russia’s suspension, the FATF said it “strongly condemns” the Russian Federation’s “war of aggression” against Ukraine. As well, the organization added that it was concerned about “malicious cyber-activities” from the country.
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