Sanctions imposed by western countries, Australia and Japan on Russian banks, oligarchs and other wealthy individuals in response to Moscow ordering troops into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine may prompt sanctioned individuals and entities to contemplate using trade-based money laundering (TBML) operations to channel funds.

A 2015 report outlines in detail that platforms of international shell companies operated through Baltic banks are already in place and play a key role in TBML for the post-Soviet countries. Meanwhile Russian oligarchs already stand accused of turning to TBML to avoid freshly imposed sanctions.

You need to be logged in to view this article.

If you are an existing subscriber please enter your credentials to log in.

To become a member of The Association of Trade Finance Compliance Professionals (ATFCP) click here!