National security laws

Russian govt approves European convention against terrorism financing

The Russian government has approved the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism and recommended the document for ratification by the parliament.

The government statement that recommends President Vladimir Putin submit the convention to the State Duma for ratification was published on the cabinet’s website on Friday. The bill on ratification of the convention has been prepared jointly by the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian State Agency for Financial Monitoring.

The Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism was introduced in May 2005 and signed by Russia in January 2009. The explanatory note published by the government as an attachment to the bill on the ratification of the convention reads that, once ratified, the document would boost the effectiveness of cooperation between Russian and foreign agencies targeting terrorism and money laundering.