KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Experts from an international task force against money laundering are working in Kiev to investigate ways to get Ukraine removed from its list of "non-cooperative" nations, Ukraine's Tax Inspectorate announced Tuesday.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, formed at the 1989 summit of G-7 nations and comprised of 31 member governments, has developed a list of 40 recommendations to combat money laundering and sends teams of investigators to work with countries that fail to implement adequate regulations.
Experts have accused Ukrainian banks of laundering illicit profits from organized crime groups, according to local newspaper reports. Ukraine is one of 19 countries blacklisted by the task force; others include Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Russia, Hungary, Egypt, and a host of island nations known for offshore banking activities.
Ukrainian tax authorities have recently investigated numerous cases of alleged money laundering, and the National Bank has strengthened its reporting requirements in response to international pressure.
The Ukrainian government established an anti-laundering program this month and plans this week to name a team of experts to develop anti-laundering laws for adoption by parliament - a prerequisite for removal from the task force list, the Interfax new agency reported.
The head of the Ukrainian Finance Ministry's monitoring group, Oleksiy Berezhnyi, said last week that the task force's demands mean Ukraine will not be removed from its black list before summer of next year, according to Interfax.
Meanwhile, delegations from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund just concluded visits to Kiev to assess financial market reforms with Ukrainian government officials. Both groups praised Ukraine's recent economic performance, but said that further reforms are needed.