FATF again fails to condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine and confirms suspension of its membership

Outcomes of the plenary session in Paris

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) confirmed that the suspension of Russia's membership in the organisation remains in effect. Meanwhile, participants in the session again refrained from publicly condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine. This is evidenced by the materials from the FATF plenary session, which took place in Paris from 28 to 30 October.

Change in the organisation's rhetoric

In the final document, Russia was mentioned exclusively in the context of its membership status. After the organisation abandoned the practice of issuing separate public statements condemning armed aggression in February 2024, such formulations have not appeared again. Over the past two years, the FATF has merely recorded the validity of the decision to suspend the Russian Federation's membership.

Previously, in 2023, the group's position was different: at that time, the FATF expressed sympathy for Ukrainians and referred to a United Nations General Assembly resolution demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. In 2024, the organisation focused on warnings regarding the strengthening of Russia's financial ties with countries subject to FATF countermeasures, as well as the risks of financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and cyberattacks.

It is worth noting that last year, on 21 February, the FATF for the first time did not name Russia an aggressor country in its declaration. The document contains no references to the anniversary of the full-scale invasion or condemnation of the Russian Federation's actions.

Cooperation results and list updates

The plenary session was chaired by the United Kingdom. During the meeting, participants agreed on global measures to counter the rise in financial crime, particularly that linked to virtual assets and fraud. Ukraine was represented at the session by the State Financial Monitoring Service.

The FATF updated its "blacklist" of jurisdictions, which currently includes North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar. Meanwhile, a number of other countries were removed from the list of those under increased monitoring.

One of the results of cooperation between the State Financial Monitoring Service and the FATF could have been the inclusion of Russia in the "blacklist". However, no progress in this direction is currently observed. Foreign partners are losing interest in the Russian issue at the main global platform for countering money laundering.