Round Up: FinCEN Announces Actions to Support REPO Multilateral Task Force and Ongoing U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Foreign Government Corruption

FinCEN Takes Steps to Increase Information Sharing with Task Force Countries, Enhances Engagement with Financial Institutions, and Issues a New Alert on Russian Oligarchs, Elites, and Their Family Members

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is announcing its efforts to support the multilateral Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force, announced earlier today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Justice. The task force aims to deny and disrupt illicit actors’ ability to deceptively access the international financial system and conduct economic activity. FinCEN is supporting Treasury’s efforts to boost cooperation and intelligence sharing by agreeing to increase information sharing with relevant authorities in task force member countries. FinCEN is also issuing a FinCEN Alert, which highlights the importance of financial institutions identifying and quickly reporting suspicious transactions by sanctioned Russian elites and their proxies that involve real estate, luxury goods, and high-value assets.

“Financial intelligence is fundamental to U.S. bilateral and multilateral efforts to trace, freeze, and seize the corrupt gains of Russian elites and their enablers,” said FinCEN Acting Director Himamauli Das. “It is critical that financial institutions increase their awareness of indicators of potential Russian sanctions evasion and that governments work together to collect and share information in this rapidly evolving crisis. We appreciate the collaboration of our financial institution and government partners in this effort.”… Read the full press release here: https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-announces-actions-support-repo-multilateral-task-force-and-ongoing-us

Russia-Related Illicit Finance and Sanctions Financial Intelligence Unit Working Group Statement of Intent

We, the Financial Intelligence Units of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, referred to herein as Working Group Members issue this statement of intent:

Recalling statements made by governments around the world, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, condemning Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice against Ukraine, enabled by the Belarussian government (“the threat”);

Recognizing that the respective governments of the Working Group Members and the European Union have imposed several rounds of far-reaching economic and financial sanctions, and committed to imposing further sanctions in response to the threat… Read the full statement here: https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/russia-related-illicit-finance-and-sanctions-fiu-working-group-statement-intent

Additional Press Releases:

U.S. Departments of Treasury and Justice Launch Multilateral Russian Oligarch Task Force

Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today met virtually with representatives from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission, to launch the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) multilateral task force.  The task force was first announced by leaders on February 26.

The task force, consisting of Finance Ministry and Justice or Home Ministry in each member jurisdiction, each committed to using their respective authorities in concert with other appropriate ministries to collect and share information to take concrete actions, including sanctions, asset freezing, and civil and criminal asset seizure, and criminal prosecution.

Cooperation between the U.S. Government and foreign partners has already yielded notable successes.  In the last three weeks alone, information provided by U.S. law enforcement to foreign partners has contributed to the restraint of multiple vessels controlled by sanctioned individuals and entities.  Collectively, these vessels are estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Our sanctions, trade restrictions, and other measures have already imposed significant costs on Russia, its leadership, and those who enabled Putin’s unprovoked invasion into Ukraine,” said Secretary Yellen. “This multilateral task force will raise those costs even more, by galvanizing coordinated efforts to freeze and seize assets of these individuals in jurisdictions around the world and deny safe haven for their ill-gotten gains.”… Read the press release here: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0659

U.S. Departments of Justice and Treasury Launch Multilateral Russian Oligarch Task Force

…The REPO task force members discussed ways to ensure the effective, coordinated implementation of the group’s collective financial sanctions relating to Russia, as well as assistance to other nations to locate and freeze assets located within their jurisdictions. Participants also discussed the need to preserve evidence and determine whether these frozen assets, or other assets linked to these sanctioned individuals or entities, are subject to forfeiture. Finally, the task force discussed ways to bring to justice enablers and gatekeepers who have facilitated the movement of sanctioned assets or other illicit funds.

The Department of Justice’s newly launched Task Force KleptoCapture, which the Attorney General established on March 2, will help support this international effort. Task Force KleptoCapture is designed to help deploy U.S. prosecutorial and law enforcement resources to identify sanctions evasion and related criminal conduct… Read the press release here: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-departments-justice-and-treasury-launch-multilateral-russian-oligarch-task-force