Crackdown on Russia’s impunity: zero tolerance policy against dirty money on European soil!

In the light of recent disclosures by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Renew Europe urges the Commission and the Council to act without any delay on the inclusion of Russia on the European list of high-risk countries for its fraudulent money laundering and terrorist financing activities. It is crucial that the EU takes all measures at its disposal to ensure that the 14 packages of sanctions in place against Russia are fully enforced. We must prevent any illicit circumvention that jeopardises the stability of the international financial system, protects Russian oligarchs and contributes to fuelling, by any means, Russia's unjustified war in Ukraine. Renew Europe also calls for the full implementation of the AML/CFT package adopted over the last parliamentary term.

MEP Stéphanie YON-COURTIN (L’Europe Ensemble, France), Renew Europe´s Coordinator on Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON), claimed:

“Faced with the Kremlin's opaque financial manoeuvres and malicious interference, we must act firmly. This is not just a question of financial security; it is a question of sovereignty and justice. Let’s put an end to the illicit funds that pollute our economies, stop the financing of criminal networks on our Union's doorstep. Let us protect our citizens, defend the integrity of our financial system and show that Europe is neither complicit nor powerless. The EU will never be a haven for Putin's dirty money”.

MEP Raquel GARCÍA HERMIDA-VAN DER WALLE (Democraten 66, Netherlands), member of the Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) and the Parliament's rapporteur on the anti-corruption directive, stated:

“Russia's actions pose a clear and present danger to Europeans. Putin's war against Ukraine and Russian money laundering, terrorist financing and corruption make clear that we can't back down. We need relentless action and use every instrument we have to stop Russia in its tracks.”