For the first time, the EU applies its AML high-risk designation outside the FATF monitoring process, creating a new category for Suspended FATF Members, setting a precedent that will outlast the war.
January 9th, 2026 – The new Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/46 ammends Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 to add the Russian Federation to the EU’s list of high-risk third countries under the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (2015/849/EU – 4AMLD). The addition triggers mandatory enhanced due diligence obligations for EU-regulated entities in respect to transactions and business relationships involving Russian counterparties.
The regulation which comes at the same time as a separate Delegate Regulation, updating other countries in the black list. However, this one is structurally more significant, as Russia does not fit within the preexisting categories of high-risk third countries under 4AMLD, which in turn is structured around FATF’s monitoring statuses. Russia’s FATF membership has been suspended due to serious violations of the organisation’s foundational principles. However, to accomodate this, the Regulation creates a whole new category in the Annex for FATF countries whose membership has been suspended. Russia currently is the sole entry in this new category.
The legal basis for the listing is an autonomous EU assessment, not a FATF recommendation. The Commission, working with the European External Action Service and member state authorities, conducted a preliminary evaluation of Russia’s AML/CFT regime and identified three areas of strategic deficiency. First, the independence of Russia’s Financial Intelligence Unit and its capacity to cooperate with counterparts in other countries. Second, the transparency of beneficial ownership information, that is, its availability and accuracy. Third, the application of AML/CFT rules to crypto-assets. The Commission concluded that these deficiencies expose the EU single market to money laundering and terrorist financing risks that must be mitigated.
Author’s notes:
This is the first time the EU has listed a country on its AML high-risk register through an autonomous assessment rather than by following a FATF designation. That procedural departure matters as much as the listing itself. It establishes that the EU can and will act independently of FATF when it determines that a jurisdiction poses a significant threat to the integrity of the EU financial system, even where international consensus mechanisms have not produced a formal designation. The new category created for suspended FATF members is a permanent structural addition to the Annex, meaning it could be used again if another country’s FATF membership were suspended in the future.
