Stronger mechanisms for tracing, freezing, confiscating assets critical to cutting off Russia's financial flows – MFA

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has welcomed the adoption by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) of its opinion on the draft Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on laundering, search, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds from crime and on the financing of terrorism.

"The emphasis in the opinion on the link between anti-money laundering instruments and the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine is of fundamental importance. Strengthening mechanisms for tracing, freezing and confiscating assets is critically important for cutting off the financial flows that Russia uses to wage war, circumvent sanctions and support state-linked structures," the ministry said in a comment published by its press service.

The Ukrainian side said the effective application of these instruments should become one of the key elements of international efforts aimed at limiting the resource base of the aggressor state and ensuring the inevitability of accountability.