Following the results of the FATF quality and compliance procedure, a follow-up report of the Russian Federation was published. The EAG Plenary approved the document in December 2023.
The report covers Russia's results achieved between October 2019 (since the previous FATF mutual evaluations) and July 2023, and provides an analysis of the key changes in Russia's anti-money laundering system in terms of a number of FATF Recommendations.
The assessment was conducted by experts from China, India, and Uzbekistan.
As a result, Russia's rating on three FATF Recommendations (R.6, 7 and 25) was upgraded to Largely Complian’. These include initiatives aimed at countering the financing of terrorism and proliferation financing, and the transparency of trusts and other similar legal arrangements.
Namely, the mechanism established in Russia for immediate freezing of assets of persons/legal entities based on the UN Security Council sanctions lists received a positive assessment. Thus, the implementation period for targeted financial sanctions does not surpass 24 hours.
The Russian Federation has taken measures to make the national AML/CFT system compliant with the updated Recommendation No. 15 ‘New Technologies.’
However, the inadequate regulatory framework governing the circulation of virtual currencies, notably intermediaries such as cryptocurrency exchanges, led to Russia's downgrade to ‘Partial Compliance’ in accordance with the updated Recommendation.
Russia continues to improve its domestic anti-money laundering system in accordance with the international AML/CFT standards.
