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highlighting the severe risks these ties pose to the financing of proliferation. North Korea has been blacklisted. The organization stressed the importance of robustly implementing targeted financial sanctions on North Korea and terminating any correspondent relations with DPRK banks.
“We anticipated more decisive action from the FATF in light of substantial evidence of violations by Russia. While I appreciate the decision to extend the suspension of Russia's membership, I believe it falls short of the necessary response of blacklisting," said Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko. "The FATF, tasked with safeguarding the global financial system, should uphold its mandate and directly name the country that has increased its financial ties with North Korea in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. There is ample evidence of such cooperation. The lack of stricter sanctions against Russia benefits the Kremlin, enabling it and potentially other malign actors to persist in undermining the international system.”
Following the FATF Plenary, Igor Cherkaskyi, Head of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine, emphasized Ukraine’s active role in the discussions.
“Ukraine continues to be an active contributor to the FATF plenaries, and our contacts with delegations are intensifying. It is worth noting the high technical level of discussions on the risks posed by Russia to the Global Network against Financing Proliferation, Terrorist Financing, and Money Laundering. This work will be continued," Cherkaskyi said. "Russia, as a suspended member of the FATF, should not evade responsibility for its actions under the FATF Mandate. Our team is working on further measures and I thank all colleagues at the national and international level who support these efforts.”
The decision highlights the ongoing global efforts to address the financial risks posed by both Russia and North Korea while underscoring the need for continued vigilance and international cooperation in enforcing financial sanctions.
Iran Proposes Connecting BRICS Countries' Payment Systems; Russia Already Agreed. Since 2014 and the subsequent Western policies, almost every BRICS country has developed its own payment system—MIR in Russia, Shetab in Iran, RuPay in India, UnionPay in China, and others. Iran proposes integrating these systems into a unified infrastructure, fully protected from sanction risks. The idea is excellent, and payments between BRICS countries would become seamless, especially since MIR and Shetab are already interconnected. However, there's a catch—both MIR and Shetab are under sanctions and have nothing to lose, unlike the payment systems of other partners, which might be reluctant to abandon SWIFT for this initiative. Nevertheless, a possible solution is for each BRICS country to designate exactly one bank that is cut off from the West and focused on working with BRICS through national payment systems. This is precisely what is being
143 RUSSIA Country Report August 2024 www.intellinews.com