News / Russia / More

Financial watchdog FATF suspends Russia’s membership over Ukraine war

Friday, 24 February 2023 3:55 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 24 February 2023 4:14 PM ]

A meeting of the FATF Plenary at the organization’s headquarters in Paris, France, October 17, 2020. (File photo by Reuters)

The Western-oriented financial crime watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) says it has suspended Russia's membership over the war in Ukraine.

The FATF said in a statement on Friday following the group’s five-day meeting in Paris that Moscow’s war in Ukraine violated the organization’s principles.

"The Russian Federation's actions unacceptably run counter to the FATF core principles aiming to promote security, safety, and the integrity of the global financial system", the group said. It said while Russia has now been suspended, it remains a member.

"The Russian Federation remains accountable for its obligation to implement the FATF Standards. The Russian Federation must continue to meet its financial obligations," the FATF said.

It said it would review the situation at each of its plenary meetings.

The FATF says it supports the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing by setting global standards and checking if countries respect them.

Ukraine over the past year made repeated calls on the group to exclude Russia altogether.

The statement came on the one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine.

Russia announced that it launched the "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, 2022 to stop Kiev's persecution of the pro-Russia population in eastern Ukraine and to "de-Nazify" the ex-Soviet republic. Since then, the United States and its allies have supplied Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons.

Western countries have also imposed a wide array of economic sanctions on Moscow and pushed for Russia to be expelled from international organizations.

The Kremlin has repeatedly warned that the sanctions and the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk