Financial Action Task Force, Takes Russia off Its Money-laundering List

According to the statement made today by Alexei Kudrin, the Minister of Finance of Russia, our country has been taken off the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international group dealing with financial abuse. Mr. Kudrin said this was the result of a serious effort Russia had made to bring her legal and executive systems into accord with international norms.

According to Alexei Gorshkov, the head of the government's Department of Information, the government believes this will make Russia more attractive to foreign investors.

The Department of External and Public Relations of the Bank of Russia says that the un-blacklisting of the country will be beneficial for increased confidence in her financial institutions. The Central Bank of Russia believes that certain restrictions concerning the identification of individuals and companies and tight control over their financial operations may now be eased.

FATF's black list includes the countries, which, according to the organisation's estimates, do little or nothing to stop money laundering by criminals. Initially, the black list included 23 countries, of which now 14 remain, including Ukraine.