U.S. authorities are cautioning financial institutions about dealing with deposed Ukrainian leader Victor Yanukovych and other top officials from his administration.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an advisory to U.S. financial institutions to “remind them of their responsibility to take reasonable, risk-based steps regarding the potential suspicious movement of assets related to Viktor Yanukovych departing Kyiv and abdicating his responsibilities and other senior officials resigning from their positions or departing Kyiv.”
FinCEN says that it is reminding financial firms that they are required to apply enhanced scrutiny to private banking accounts held by, or on behalf of, senior foreign political figures; and, to monitor transactions that could potentially represent misappropriated or diverted state assets, the proceeds of bribery or other illegal payments, or other public corruption proceeds.
“Financial institutions should be aware of the possible impact that public reports of high-level corruption by senior members of the Yanukoych administration and other illicit activity by members of the administration may have on patterns of financial activity when assessing risks related to particular customers and transactions,” the advisory says.
It also stresses that the guidance is focused on potentially suspicious transactions involving senior members of the Yanukoych administration, or those acting on their behalf, and is not intended to call into question normal relationships between financial institutions in the U.S. and Ukraine.