Financial Times: EU Considers Placing Russia on ‘Grey List’ Over Money Laundering Concerns

The European Union is considering placing Russia on its “grey list” of jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) controls.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to Financial Times, citing senior European Commission officials.

The proposal, which has gained significant support among members of the European Parliament, is currently under review, though a formal decision has not yet been adopted.

“There is strong momentum behind the idea of including Russia,” said German  Member of the European Parliament Markus Ferber, pointing to growing concern over Russia’s failure to meet international anti-money laundering standards.

While the updated list of jurisdictions was expected to be released this week, the European Commission postponed its publication due to administrative and procedural delays. Officials now anticipate the decision could be finalized early next week.

Inclusion on the EU grey list would subject Russia-linked transactions to enhanced due diligence requirements across the bloc’s financial institutions. This would not only complicate cross-border financial flows involving Russian entities but also raise compliance costs for international banks and firms, increasing Russia’s economic isolation.

Greylisting by the EU is typically aligned with assessments made by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog for AML/CFT standards. 

However, Russia’s FATF membership was suspended in 2023, a year after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, limiting the organization's ability to formally penalize Moscow. Diplomats note that several countries within FATF continue to resist efforts to add Russia to its official list of high-risk jurisdictions.

According to Financial Times, a draft of the EU’s forthcoming list largely mirrors FATF’s own assessments and includes Algeria, Angola, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal, and Venezuela. 

Nevertheless, some internal EU divisions persist. On June 5, Slovakia’s parliament passed a resolution urging the government to refrain from supporting further sanctions or trade restrictions against Russia in international forums.

Read more on The Gaze: Are Ukraine’s Allies Ready to Take Sanctions Against Russia to the Next Level in 2025?