The Kremlin wants observer status in the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group by this fall, according to people familiar with the matter and documents obtained by Bloomberg.
The ESAAMLG has 20 member countries, including South Africa, Mauritius, and Tanzania, as well as observers including the Commonwealth Secretariat, the International Monetary Fund, the US, and the UK.
The Kremlin’s financial monitoring unit, Rosfinmonitoring, confirmed in an emailed statement that Russia has indeed applied to join ESAAMLG as an observer.
“The presence of Russian companies on the African continent – including the financial sector – is growing, and economic ties are expanding,” the agency said in a statement.