Ukraine has begun to actively lobby for Russia's inclusion in the EU's "gray list"
Photo: depositphotos.com

The National Bank of Ukraine has begun lobbying for Russia to be included in the European "gray list" of countries that do not take sufficient measures to combat money laundering as a way to increase financial pressure on Moscow. This was stated by First Deputy Governor of the NBU Serhiy Nikolaychuk in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine .

Ukraine has repeatedly asked the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to put Russia on its "blacklist," but this decision requires consensus, which is not being reached.

"At the NBU, we are constantly working to expand the arguments for the need for such a decision. At the same time, we understand that international diplomatic relations are a complex topic where many interests of completely different countries intersect: those that support us and those that do not," Nikolaychuk said .

Therefore, the NBU has recently begun to pay much attention to lobbying for Russia's inclusion in the "gray list" Of the European Union.

"This will allow us to establish stricter institutional boundaries to control financial transactions with Russian elements in the European Union and give an additional impetus to our other international partners," said Nikolaychuk .

The last revision of the "gray list" Of the EU took place in July 2025.

It added Algeria, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Monaco, Namibia, Nepal and Venezuela and excluded Barbados, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Panama, Namibia, Panama, the Philippines, Senegal, Uganda and the UAE.

  • february 24, 2023 The FATF suspended Russia's membership, but Ukraine's calls to take the next step and add Russia to the "blacklist" have not yet been answered.
  • The Kremlin is trying to put pressure on other countries, including India, behind the scenes, in particular India, to prevent this from happening .
  • Since the suspension, Russia has significantly strengthened ties with blacklisted North Korea and Iran and intensified malicious cyber activity.