Russia has been expelled from the financial intelligence community

The Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units decided to suspend Russia’s membership to preserve its reputation. They noted that trust in the Russian representative had been seriously damaged, Bloomberg reports.

The group brings together more than 160 intelligence units from around the world to work together and share information about money laundering, terrorist financing and other related crimes.

“The suspension agreed on Wednesday means that Russia’s access to this information will be limited,” the agency wrote.

It also reported that the Kremlin lobbied hard to maintain its membership in the Egmont Group and block efforts to impose further sanctions on Russia.

Those efforts include trying to get support from China, warning friends like India about the impact of financial isolation on bilateral trade relations and trying to join a regional anti-money laundering body. in Africa.

Subsequently, the Egmont Group officially confirmed the removal of the Russian Federation.

The group said in a statement that the organization remains deeply concerned about the devastating consequences of Russia’s current military aggression against Ukraine.

“Trust has been seriously damaged due to Rosfinmonitoring’s position regarding the actions and policies of its government, as well as its chosen means of communication. In order to preserve the reputation of the Egmont Group in the international space, the group has decided to suspend the membership of Rosfinmonitoring for the time necessary to protect the interests of the Egmont Group and ensure the achievement of its goals,” the institution said.

Let’s recall that the international group against money laundering (Financial Action Task Force – FATF) decided to suspend Russia’s membership on February 24, 2023.