VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Let us begin with the FATF*.
Yuri Chikhanchin: The Force ended its meeting last week. Here are a few key issues of interest to us. First, we continue to uphold the positions we have won and the standards we support. Second, the meeting produced a new Blacklist of "Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories". At present, we are considering a mechanism for selecting countries for the list and the criteria for such selection. We have found a common language with a number of countries, and are working in groups to consider these issues. We have drafted a letter for the ministries and departments, so that they can work jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop a common approach on these issues. We continue working towards this objective.
In addition, we are working on a process to monitor financial flows, focusing primarily on the flow that constitutes the budget sphere. We are working jointly with law-enforcement bodies and within the interdepartmental group at the Prosecutor General's Office. And we immediately report all available facts.
Vladimir Putin: Are you satisfied with the interaction?
Yuri Chikhanchin: Yes, we are. We are highlighting the export of money. This is the first chart (shows documents) according to which the money outflow is dwindling. General economic conditions are a critical element. June showed a minor change, but it is temporary. This is why we are working on it.
As for other spheres, we have been monitoring the trend in cashing account assets, and can say that the situation is stabilising. There is a decline, which explains the smoothness. We are monitoring the situation.
At the same time, there are some issues on which we are working, above all the issues which you mentioned today - lending and social tightness in single-industry towns. We have honed our procedures, and are forwarding all information to law-enforcement bodies. I will report on this later. In all, we have supplied law-enforcement officials with information about some 100 banks - 10 of them have lost their licences - and approximately 200 businesses working in this sphere. And we continue working.
Overall, figures show that the number of investigations we conduct is growing considerably. One of the reasons is crime, which tends to shift within Russia's markets. In the past, the traditional sphere of such crimes was the banking sector, but now - the FATF has alerted us to this - the trend has shifted to trade transactions and real estate. We have also noticed this. This is why we highlight these issues and consider them jointly with prosecutors. In all, law-enforcement officials used some 2,000 of our documents in criminal cases and investigation.
Vladimir Putin: How many of them are heard in court?
Yuri Chikhanchin: Unfortunately, not many - approximately 51 cases this year.
Vladimir Putin: And how many verdicts have the courts passed?
Yuri Chikhanchin: This issue is even more complicated. Approximately the same number, related to Article 174 (money laundering and legalisation). But it should be remembered that law-enforcement officials find economic elements in many lawsuits that are forwarded to the courts. Verdicts are passed, but not always under Article 174.
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* FATF, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, is an intergovernmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. Its members include 34 countries and two international organisations - the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Commission.
