23rd Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum – Illicit Finance
Honorable Andreas Funk, a former banker at Goldman Sachs and HSBC, and an AML/CTF advisor for over 25 years, addressed the persistent threat of illicit financial flows to democracy. He emphasized that hundreds of billions of euros from Russia have been laundered in the European Union under the control of Russian intelligence, posing risks to democratic stability, the rule of law, and human rights.
Funk criticized the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), noting that despite 30 years of AML/CTF efforts, money laundering has grown to an estimated $4.2 trillion annually, surpassing double global military spending. He argued that FATF’s framework is politically influenced, weakened by autocratic member states such as Russia and China, and ineffective at enforcing compliance.
He highlighted that Western democracies, including the European Union and the United States, have often failed to enforce anti-money laundering measures, citing EU non-compliance with AML directives, the European Court of Justice’s restricted access to beneficial ownership registers, and backlogs in German Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) investigations.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Funk noted that sanctions are only effective if enforced and warned that corruption could undermine reconstruction efforts without strong financial oversight, drawing lessons from Afghanistan and the original Marshall Plan. He concluded with a call to “unlearn helplessness,” urging governments to focus on their strengths and the fight against illicit finance.
