With the aims of fighting penetration of criminal capital into national economies and opposing financing of terrorist activities many countries of the world have created or are in the process of creation of national mechanisms of counteraction to laundering of criminal incomes and join efforts in this area under the auspices of international organizations.
The Russian Federation also joined the international system of measures aimed at prevention of legalization of criminal incomes and terrorism financing and is an active participant of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and of the Egmont Group. The Russian legislation on money laundering and terrorism financing incorporates major recommendations elaborated by world community.
Since many products and services offered by banks are used as instruments for money laundering and financing of terrorism and assuming the necessity of fulfilling the requirements of Russian legislation
Savings bank of the Russian Federation,
Vneshtorgbank,
Vnesheconombank,
Alfa Bank,
Bank of Moscow,
Bank Zenit,
UniCredit Bank,
Raiffeisenbank Austria (Moscow)
declare that in their professional activity they will be guided by the following principles:
- inadmissibility of utilization of the Bank for money laundering and terrorism financing purposes;
- identification of all customers of the Bank;
- application of “know your customer” principle to each of the Bank’s customers;
- ban on opening of bearer accounts;
- establishment of correspondent relations only with financial institutions that take measures aimed at prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing;
- ban on correspondent relations and transactions with " shell banks" having no physical presence at the address of their registration;
- timely information of the Federal executive body empowered to fight money laundering and terrorism financing (FSFM) of transactions subject to reporting.
Assuming the complexity of anti-money laundering and terrorism financing tasks facing the Russian banking community, the aforementioned banks while fulfilling Russian legal requirements and recommendations of international organizations of which Russian Federation is a part, will also undertake joint actions such as:
1. Sharing experience in the area of internal control aimed at
prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing.
2. Development of common approach to realization of the principle
“Know your customer”.
3. Joint elaboration of methods of revealing suspicious
transactions and financial schemes and of standard characteristics
money laundering and terrorism financing transactions.
4. Pursuing of united policy towards correspondent banks.
5. Elaboration of unified standards of staff training in the field
of money laundering and terrorism financing; organization of joint
training seminars, round tables, research-and-practical
conferences.
6. Preparation and sending to the Bank of Russia, the Federal
Service for Financial Markets and the Federal Service for Financial
Monitoring of joint proposals on improvement of legal and normative
base in the field of money laundering and terrorism financing;
rendering of practical assistance to these institutions in
elaboration of normative documents in this field.
7. Development of coordination between the 8 banks based on the
principle of free will.
8. Development of cooperation with Russian and foreign banks, their
groups and associations interested in strengthening and improvement
of Russian and international systems of money laundering and
terrorism financing.
This Declaration is open for joining by Russian credit institutions
that share principles and intentions stated herein.
Moscow
June 25th, 2004