Nabiullina said there are no reasons to include Russia in the FATF black list

There are no objective reasons for including Russia in the gray or black lists of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This was announced by the Chairman of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina at a press conference following the meeting of the board of directors of the regulator.

Nabiullina clarified that in 2019 Russia received high marks from the FATF after checking the anti-money laundering system, which continues to work effectively. “And, of course, in order to be included in a gray or black list, some significant structural flaws in the functioning of this anti-money laundering system are needed. In our opinion, there are no objective reasons for this.” thinks Nabiullina (quote from Interfax).

The Chairman of the Central Bank admits that a politically motivated decision may be made to include Russia in the black list. If such a decision is made, it will entail negative consequences, the settlement systems will become more complicated, as the terms of the compliance procedure in international settlements will increase, Nabiullina specified.

February 24, 2023 FATF suspended Russia’s membership in the organization. The FATF said that Russia’s actions allegedly contradict the principles of the organization and constitute a “gross violation of obligations for international cooperation and mutual respect.” Rosfinmonitoring called this decision politicized, adding that it does not entail any obligations and restrictions for financial institutions in Russia and abroad. In 2022, the head of the department, Yuri Chikhanchin, said that they unsuccessfully tried to exclude Russia from the group.

In May at Rosfinmonitoring told that the agency faced problems in obtaining data from other countries for investigating cases of money laundering and financing of terrorism.