EU Designates Russia High-Risk for Financial Crime

The European Commission announced in December 2025 that it has officially designated Russia as a high-risk jurisdiction due to serious strategic weaknesses identified within its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks (AML/CFT). This action was taken pursuant to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1393, which committed the Commission to reviewing nations whose membership in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had been suspended. Following a detailed technical assessment, the Commission concluded that Russia satisfied the established criteria to be labelled a high-risk third country under the 4th Anti-money Laundering Directive. Consequently, all EU financial entities covered by the AML framework are now required to apply enhanced vigilance when processing transactions involving Russia to preserve the integrity of the EU financial system. The delegated regulation is scheduled to take effect following a period of scrutiny and non-objection from both the European Parliament and the Council.