FOR THE RECORD: U.S. statement on Ukraine's removal from FATF list

The statement below was released in Kyiv by the Embassy of the United States on March 1.

The February 27 decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to remove Ukraine from its list of Non-Cooperative Territories and Countries (NCTC) is a tribute to the hard work of the staff of the State Financial Monitoring Department (FMD), the National Bank of Ukraine and all the other agencies that have helped to establish and implement anti-money laundering policy in Ukraine.

The United States Embassy will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to strengthen enforcement and investigation in this area. Since last June, when Ukraine's Anti-Money Laundering Law entered into force, the U.S. Treasury Department has provided technical support to the FMD. We encourage the FMD to continue to build its capacity, and we look forward to continuing our cooperation.

We would also like to take this opportunity to stress that the FATF and Ukraine's partners will continue to monitor Ukraine's efforts against money laundering. Though we are always prepared to help, successful enforcement and prosecution will ultimately depend on decisions and policies adopted by Ukrainians. We strongly encourage all Ukrainian agencies involved in fighting money laundering to build on the accomplishments that FATF has cited. Most importantly, we would stress the importance of not taking actions that could reverse this very significant accomplishment.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 7, 2004, No. 10, Vol. LXXII

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