In March, we published a first  statement on the situation in Ukraine, calling all competent authorities to ensure all financial institutions properly implement restrictive measures adopted by the Council of the EU.  We highlighted the importance of sanctions compliance and of institutions taking advantage of the flexibility enshrined in EU AML/CFT law to provide refugees with access to at least basic financial products.

EBA asked financial institutions to follow a risk-based approach when providing financial products to refugees from Ukraine, using the EBA’s 2021 ML/TF Risk Factors Guidelines and the EBA’s 2016 Opinion on the Application of Customer Due Diligence Measures for Asylum Seekers.

In April we published a statement on financial inclustion in the context of the invastion in Ukraine.  The statement sets out what financial institutions and their AML/CFT supervisors can do to facilitate access by refugees from Ukraine to the EU’s financial system and what financial institutions and AML/CFT supervisors can do to protect vulnerable customers from abuse by criminals and to tackle emerging financial crime risks.