MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. The decision to suspend the membership of Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring) in the Egmont Group (unites financial intelligence units from 170 countries) is all politics, has no legal basis and goes in total violation of the mandate, charter and principles of the Egmont Group, the Russian service said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

"This decision is all politics, has no legal grounds, brazenly violates the mandate, charter and principles of the Egmont Group and does not take into account the well-argued positions of representatives of a large number of financial intelligence units that are also members of the group," the statement reads.

Moreover, the decision is fraught with risks for the global financial system as a number of international financial investigations will be suspended, Rosfinmonitoring noted.

That said, the Russian service will continue to work with countries that are genuinely interested in tackling economic crime and terrorism financing, including through other information exchange channels.

On October 19, the Egmont Group decided to suspend Rosfinmonitoring’s membership in the organization. The decision is related to the group’s loss of confidence in the Russian service due to its position on the Ukrainian conflict and how it chooses to communicate, according to Egmont’s official position.

The Egmont Group comprises financial intelligence units from 170 jurisdictions and enables its members to exchange information through a special secure communication channel. Rosfinmonitoring has been a member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units since June 2002.