Ahead of the next week’s FATF plenary meeting, the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units has published a statement regarding the suspension of rosfinmonitoring, the russian FIU, from the organisation.

The Egmont Group brings together 170 financial intelligence units (FIUs) around the world, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), to cooperate and share information on suspected money laundering, terrorist financing and other related crimes.

This decision effectively “cut off” rosfinmonitoring’s access to the Egmont Group’s secure communications portal to receive/transmit information to/from other FIUs about attempts to launder money or financing the terrorism.

During an online meeting on 18 October 2023, Heads of FIUs of the Egmont Group reached a consensus that trust has been severely eroded due to rosfinmonitoring’s position regarding the actions and policies of its government, as well as its chosen methods of communication.

The Egmont Group’s statement emphasises the importance of international cooperation and the development of synergies with international partners (including international organisations) to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Group’s interests and objectives are focused on the requirements of an effective global system of cooperation in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, which is multidimensional and complex. In this system, trust is the key foundation for any cooperation.

Egmont Group stated that the suspension of russia’s membership and related restrictive measures will continue as long as these actions are practical and required to protect the interests and objectives of the organisation.

“The suspension of rosfinmonitoring’s membership was a response to the issue of its autonomy. russia’s FIU has become a tool of authoritarianism rather than a body that fights financial crime. Control over the FIU is likely to help the kremlin create complex networks to conceal the origin of the proceeds of illegal activities, including corruption and sanctions evasion. The decision of Egmont Group is another indicator that russia does not comply with international rules and standards of cooperation and the international community understands this,” said Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko

The Minister of Finance also added: “russia’s disconnection from the Egmont Group’s secure web portal is also a result of russia’s rapprochement with countries such as North Korea and Iran. The Egmont Group’s decision minimised the risk of confidential suspicious transaction reports and other financial intelligence from the world’s FIUs leaking to sanctioned regimes.”

Additional information

According to the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF): “The FIU should be operationally independent and autonomous, meaning that the FIU should have the authority and capacity to carry out its functions freely, including the autonomous decision to analyse, request and/or disseminate specific information. In all cases, this means that the FIU has the independent right to forward or disseminate information to competent authorities”.