Such amendments to existing legislation was prepared by the Federal financial monitoring service.
Rosfinmonitoring proposes to equate buying an “economic resources” of terrorists (in particular, oil, petroleum products and their by-products and other natural resources) to promote terrorist activities. The Agency proposes to adopt amendments to article 205.1 of the criminal code “Promoting terrorist activities”, the maximum penalty for which is life imprisonment. The minimum term under article – 5 years. About this “news” said Deputy Director of Rosfinmonitoring Paul Livadny. According to him, currently the document is under approval in the Ministry of justice, Investigative Committee, the Prosecutor General, the Supreme court, the FSB and the interior Ministry.
Is an innovative offering that will allow us to prosecute foreign terrorists — said “news” Pavel Livadny. For the first time Russia has offered to amend all of the member countries of FATF (international Group of financial action against money laundering — Financial Action Task Force) in December 2015 — at a meeting in Paris. In February 2016 regular meeting of the FATF, our proposal was supported by all countries, including the United States. Not the fact that the state will change the law in the light of innovations. The country can go and practice. Interagency coordination can last up to one month. But given the importance of the issue, I think time would be shorter.
According to the Deputy Director of Rosfinmonitoring, in recommendation 5 of the FATF (the crime of financing of terrorism) contains the requirement “to criminalize the providing to terrorists in any way economic resources including oil and other natural resources”, and also indicated the need for “the use of the mechanism for blocking (freezing) of transactions involving such resources.”
All proposals of the delegation of the Russian Federation-based financial provisions of UNSCR (in particular, the UNSCR 2199 and 2253), which are binding under article 25 of the UN Charter, — said Pavel Livadny.
The Director of the analytical Department of the IR “Okay Broker” Vladimir rojankovski’s appreciation for the innovation.
— The only question is “devilish details” – those most hidden from prying eyes the nuances that Russia may have differences with the West,— the expert believes. — We can only hope that these discrepancies will not be able to break the spirit of this bill, and it will be adopted by interested countries. This practice unilaterally has long been used by U.S. intelligence agencies. In particular, at the end of last year, just for cooperation with Somali nationals the French Bank BNP Paribas was fined nearly $9 billion from the U.S. attorney General. As a curiosity it can be noted that if there is evidence that this article can get high-ranking officials of Turkey.
According to managing partner of the audit company “2K” Tamara Kasyanova, the initiative of Rosfinmonitoring has serious reasons – the fight against terrorism must adapt to new realities, and one of the directions of this struggle should be the development of economic instruments of influence.
— If the combating terrorism was based on individual financial thresholds and related to separate accounts, operations, etc., now, this is not enough – it requires complete economic isolation of the whole region. The proposals of the Federal financial monitoring service does just that – to limit trade contacts with extremists — says the interviewee.
However, Tamara Kasyanov believes that the real application of these restrictions without the initiative of each individual member state in the FATF, it is hardly possible.
— It is therefore important that the proposals of Rosfinmonitoring, if adopted, does not remain merely a declarative tool. In this regard, to increase the role of the FATF, as the guarantor for enforcement of the new restrictions on counter-terrorism. In any case, acceptance of the proposals of Rosfinmonitoring will be a good step in the direction of the global fight against terrorists, says Tamar Kasyanov.
Head of the analytical Department of the Bank BKF Maxim Osadchy said that the appearance of this legislative initiative can be linked to sounded in the beginning of Russian-Turkish conflict accusations against Turkey that gets oil from ISIS (banned in Russia organization).
— However, the practical meaning of this initiative shall not be, indeed, the current AML / CFT law creates a barrier in the way of financial transactions with terrorists, — says the analyst.
As previously reported by “Izvestia”, the UN security Council on 28 July 2014 adopted a presidential statement on the inadmissibility of crude oil purchases from terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq, “Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant” (IGIL) and “Dzhabhat EN-Nusra”. The reason is that the proceeds go to support these groups. The document was prepared at the initiative of Russia and provides for the imposition of sanctions against those who will continue to buy smuggled hydrocarbons. The statement indicated that the member States of the UN undertake to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts. The Russian foreign Ministry then said that Russia insisted on the need to take such statements from the first months of the war in Syria.
