EU to add Russia to high-risk blacklist over money laundering, terrorism financing, opposition politician Gotsiridze

The European Commission is set to add Russia to a blacklist of countries considered high-risk for money laundering and terrorism financing, opposition politician Roman Gotsiridze told Front News on Friday.

Gotsiridze claimed the move would have major practical implications for Russian individuals and businesses operating in Europe:

• All EU banks would be required to apply enhanced scrutiny to any transactions involving Russia, putting every Russian client under immediate suspicion.
  
  

• Most banks are likely to close existing Russian accounts and refuse new Russian clients to avoid the administrative burden of compliance checks.
  
  

• Transfers to and from Europe would become significantly more expensive, delayed by weeks, or even blocked entirely.
  
  

• The risk of sudden freezing of Russian accounts and assets in the EU would sharply increase.
  
  

• Essentially, the doors of the European financial system would close to Russian citizens and companies.
  
  

The regulation will take effect once it is formally approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, expected within a month.

Gotsiridze characterized the measure as a significant blow to “Putin’s criminal regime,” comparing Russia’s future financial isolation to that of Iran and North Korea.