Guidance to Financial Institutions on Recent Events related to the Departure of Victor Yanukovych and Other Ukrainian Officials (FinCEN Advisory - FIN-2014-A001)

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FIN-2014-A001 February 25, 2014

1. For updated information on developments concerning the administration of Victor Yanukovych, see
   http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/ukraine-travel-warning.html and http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/141110.pdf.
2. “Senior foreign political figure” means a current or former senior official of a foreign government or of a major foreign
   political party; a senior executive of a foreign government-owned commercial enterprise; a corporation, business, or other entity that has been formed by, or of the benefit of, any such individual; the immediate family members of any such individual; and a person who is widely and publicly known (or is actually known by the relevant covered financial institution) to be a close associate of such individual. For the purposes of this definition, “senior official or executive” means an individual with substantial authority over policy, operations, or the use of government-owned resources and “immediate family member” means spouses, parents, siblings, children and a spouse’s parents and siblings. See, 31 CFR 1010.620(c) and 31 CFR 1010.605(p). Guidance to Financial Institutions on Recent Events related to the Departure of Victor Yanukovych and Other Ukrainian Officials The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing this 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.1 FinCEN is reminding U.S. financial institutions that they are required to apply enhanced scrutiny to private banking accounts held by or on behalf of senior foreign political figures2 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 Yanukovych 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. This advisory is focused on potentially suspicious transactions involving senior members of the Yanukovych administration or those acting for or on their behalf, and is not intended to call into question the maintenance of normal relationships between financial institutions in the United States and Ukraine.