Financial officials from the European Union recently claimed that adding Russia to the EU’s anti-money laundering (AML) blacklist would merely be a symbolic move rather than significantly sanction the country for the on-going war in Ukraine.
The development is said to come amid ongoing debates within the Union about how to increase financial pressure on Russia and potentially force it to reach an agreement regarding geopolitical tensions at the Ukrainian border.
The financial stability perspective
The Financial Stability Director at the European Commission, John Berrigan, recently addressed the possibility of including Russia on the EU’s AML blacklist, noting that the action wouldn’t provide significant changes. He argued that the EU already enforced financial measures against Russia, including transaction bans on several important Russian entities. From his point of view, listing the country on the AML blacklist of the European Union would mainly be a symbolic gesture, as European banks are already subject to transaction bans.
The meaning behind the blacklist
The EU’s AML blacklist is also referred to as the ‘grey list’ and identifies countries with specific struggles in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism policies, leaving room for illegal financing. Countries on this list often face scrutiny from EU’s financial institutions, requiring additional due diligence on transactions involving entities from these jurisdictions. The listing can cause strong reputational damage to countries and may also affect the country’s external policies, especially when handling Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).
The European Commission has created a strict methodology for identifying these high-risk countries, closely aligning with the Financial Action Tasking Force (FATF) standards. Russia was previously blacklisted by the FATF in 2000 and delisted in 2002, after becoming a full member in 2003. However, following Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, FATF suspended Russia’s membership in 2023, a distinctive sanction from formal blacklisting.
According to some EU officials, blacklisting Russia wouldn’t necessarily introduce new operational restrictions and, instead, would simply serve as a political gesture reinforcing EU’s strict position against the ongoing war in Ukraine.
As of July 2025, the EU is yet to formally add Russia on the AML blacklist, citing the need for more robust evidence and deliberations about the effectiveness of the action. However, including Russia on the list would potentially request all financial institutions across the EU to enforce stronger due diligence on Russian transactions, boosting compliance burdens, and even limiting Russian financial activities in the European Union.