EU to add Russia to money laundering blacklist: what does this mean?

The European Union has decided to add Russia to the blacklist of countries that pose a high risk of money laundering and terrorist financing.

This was reported in Politico.

The global watchdog group on financial crime (FATF) suspended Russia’s membership in the organization after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. However, despite the evidence provided by the Ukrainian side, it did not blacklist it, in particular due to resistance from the BRICS countries.

“EU lawmakers have repeatedly called on the Commission to do what the FATF has failed to do. The Commission has committed to completing the review by the end of 2025 in order to gain their support for removing the United Arab Emirates and Gibraltar from the list earlier this year,” the material says.

The decision to blacklist Russia was made amid the European Union’s attempts to stop Belgium’s resistance to a “repatriation loan” for Ukraine, which would be financed with frozen Russian assets.

As noted, such a decision will contribute to strengthening checks on transactions by financial institutions.

Recall that Belgium criticized the European Commission’s new proposal to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, stating that the document is “categorically unacceptable.”

It was previously reported that the European Union is working on an urgent legal mechanism that will allow frozen Russian money to be safely used to lend to Ukraine, avoiding risks for Belgium.

As is known,the European Union is preparing an alternative financing scenario for Ukraine in case the leaders fail to agree on using frozen Russian assets to create a reparations loan.

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , Twitter , Telegram , and Instagram.