The meeting, chaired by Yury Chikhanchin, Director of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, was attended by the heads and experts of the financial intelligence units of the Council member states — Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan — along with representatives of observer states, international organizations, and sectoral cooperation bodies.
In opening the meeting, Yury Chikhanchin underscored the importance of coordinated efforts to counter major threats, including international terrorism, transnational crime, and offences committed through the misuse of information and communications technologies (ICTs). He noted that criminal activity has increasingly migrated into the digital environment, particularly in the areas of drug trafficking, terrorist recruitment, fraud, and the exploitation of young people as money mules.
Participants briefed colleagues on nationally identified risks and on the measures taken to mitigate them. For example, to reduce the involvement of young people in criminal schemes, CHFIUs member states support the development of the International Movement on Financial Security, including participation in the International Olympiad on Financial Security and the implementation of national public-awareness campaigns.
Addressing the issue of countering money-muling schemes, Olesya Trishina, ITMCFM representative, presented the results of an analytical study examining the typological characteristics of money mules.
The study, which surveyed approximately 1,000 young Russians, enabled the development of a psychological profile of a typical participant in such schemes:
Common traits include financial and legal illiteracy, high suggestibility, and an uncritical perception of information. These individuals often possess a sense of “imagined impunity,” reflecting the mistaken belief that they cannot be identified or held accountable. They tend to be motivated by the prospect of quick and effortless gains. Another significant psychological factor is distrust of official institutions — such as banks and government authorities — paired with heightened trust in peers or online influencers.
The expert community proposed a comprehensive approach to reducing the risks of youth involvement in criminal activity:
- Legal measures: introduction of criminal liability, and, as a prospective measure, development of civil liability mechanisms for recovering damages from money mules.
- Technological measures: identification of behavioral indicators of money-mule activity and the creation of a unified interbank platform as key tools for rapid, banking-level counteraction.
- Awareness-raising measures: youth-oriented outreach, analysis of real cases, use of modern information formats, and emphasis on the long-term negative consequences.
The final study will be published in December on the official website of ITMCFM and communicated to FIUs, government authorities, the private sector organizations, the International Network AML/CFT Institute member universities, and other stakeholders.
