The EU has added Russia to the blacklist: enhanced verification of documents and transactions for everyone

Starting January 9, 2026, the European Union has implemented the strictest financial measures against Russia among all available monitoring tools. This means that document verification and source of funds checks will now apply to virtually every transaction related to Russia — from large corporate payments to ordinary bank transfers by citizens.

The decision was made in December 2025 due to the EU’s identified “strategic deficiencies” in combating money laundering and terrorist financing. Regulators pointed to weak control over crypto assets in Russia and insufficient transparency regarding the beneficial owners of companies.

How Enhanced Verification Works in European Banks

Document verification will become the main obstacle for all financial operations. EU banks are required to thoroughly verify the origin of each payment, the purpose of the transaction, and complete customer information. This applies to both newly opened accounts and existing ones, even if they were opened years ago.

The predictable result: processing any payment will take significantly longer. Systematic document checks mean that transactions will “hang” while awaiting additional explanations from clients. Rejections of transfers will become common, especially if bank algorithms deem the source of funds insufficiently transparent.

Business Operations: How Euro Settlements Will Change

Russian companies trading with EU partners will face serious difficulties. Payments in euros now require additional approval through correspondent accounts of European banks — each of which will consider the Russian origin of the parties as a potential risk.

Compliance costs will multiply many times over. Companies will need to prepare and submit extended documentation packages — certificates of asset origin, transaction purpose explanations, beneficiary statements. Some payments will inevitably be blocked by automated systems and require manual review.

For smaller transactions, the risk of rejection is especially high — banks prefer to simply decline “risky” payments rather than investigate their legality.

Russian Citizens in the EU: How Will This Affect Daily Life

The European Union officially states that these measures are not aimed at Russians who have long lived abroad. However, in practice, enhanced document verification will be applied without exceptions.

Bank transfers will take longer. If previously a transfer took 1-2 days, now expect 5-7 business days or more. Every transfer is potentially a “risky” operation requiring additional verification.

When renting property, buying real estate, or obtaining insurance, there is no avoiding monitoring. All major transactions will be scrutinized with particular care — source of funds, connections to Russia, purpose of expenditure. Mortgage loans for Russians will become almost unattainable.

Russians Outside the EU: How New Rules Will Affect Them

Even those living in other countries will face barriers when conducting operations related to Russia. Banks in Central Asia (through which many Russians transfer money) will come under pressure: they risk losing their correspondent accounts in the EU if they work with Russian capital without sufficiently strict documentation checks.

The result: intermediary transfers through Asian financial institutions will become unreliable and more expensive. Sending money to relatives in Russia or receiving income from Russian sources will become nearly impossible without intermediate steps and additional costs.

Comparison with Other Countries on the EU Blacklist

Russia has become the 30th country added to the European high-risk list. Its proximity to North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, and Syria on this list is not just a number in a document. It demonstrates the scale of restrictions now affecting Russian financial operations.

The international FATF (Financial Action Task Force) has still not officially blacklisted Russia thanks to the positions of China, India, and Saudi Arabia. However, Russia’s membership in FATF has been suspended since 2023, complicating dialogue with international financial regulators.

Main Consequences: Summary

The key condition of the new rules: there is no absolute ban on operations, but each transaction is now considered potentially risky. Document verification for legality will become a mandatory stage for all payments without exception.

The speed and reliability of international transfers will decline, especially if funds pass through intermediaries in third countries. Any payment will require additional justification and may be delayed or rejected.

In practice, this means Russian capital has become less mobile in the global financial system, and European banks have a legal basis to apply maximum strictness to everything connected to Russia in some way.