Financial crimes watchdog FATF suspends Russia’s membership over Ukraine war | World News

On Friday, the FATF suspended Russia’s membership over its “illegal, unprovoked and unjustified” full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, an official statement said.

It said Russia’s actions “unacceptably” violated the FATF’s core principles aimed at promoting the safety and integrity of the global financial system.

One year after Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified all-out military invasion of Ukraine, FATF reiterates its deepest sympathies to the people of Ukraine and continues to mourn the enormous loss of life and malice caused by Russia’s continued “brutal attacks” on Ukraine Regretted the destruction, said a statement issued after the FATF plenary meeting in Paris.

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The FATF said Russia had “strongly condemned” its “war of aggression” against Ukraine over the past year and had “intensified its inhumane and barbaric attacks on critical public infrastructure,” the statement said.

The global counter-terrorism financing watchdog said it was also deeply concerned about reports of arms trade between Russia and U.N.-sanctioned jurisdictions, as well as malicious cyber activity emanating from Russia.

Russia’s behavior is an unacceptable violation of FATF core principles designed to promote security, Safetyand the integrity of the global financial system, they also constitute a serious breach of the commitments of FATF members to international cooperation and mutual respect that FATF members have agreed to implement and support FATF standards, it said.

“Considering the above, FATF has decided to suspend the membership of the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation remains responsible for its obligations to implement FATF standards.

“The Russian Federation must continue to meet its financial obligations. The Russian Federation will continue to be a member of the global network as an active member of the Eurasian Money Laundering Group (EAG) and retain its rights as a member of the EAG,” the statement said.

FATF said it would monitor the situation and consider at each plenary meeting whether there was a reason to lift or modify the restrictions.

“FATF continues to call on all jurisdictions to remain vigilant to the threat posed by the Russian Federation’s war on Ukraine to the integrity, safety and security of the international financial system.

“The FATF reiterates that all jurisdictions should be vigilant against new risks that may arise from measures taken to circumvent measures to protect the international financial system and take the necessary steps to mitigate these risks,” the statement said.

The FATF said it sympathized with the Ukrainian people who had “suffered a terrible burden” at the hands of Russia’s “war of aggression” and that FATF reflected the thoughts of “the entire international community” and hoped this was what would return them to security, peace and prosperity one year.