Ukraine has warned Singapore and other nations that Russia could try to disrupt an upcoming meeting of the global watchdog that combats money laundering and terrorist financing, despite being suspended from the body, Bloomberg reports.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is due to meet in Singapore from June 23 to June 28 and Kyiv this month wrote to the hosts and other members to warn them that the Kremlin could send officials to the talks in an attempt to contact, influence and pressure delegates on the margins of the proceedings, according to people familiar with the matter. One FATF delegate confirmed their country had received a letter.

The Paris-based FATF sets the international standards for rules and procedures to counter money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as facilitating cross-border cooperation to combat suspect transactions.

Countries that fall short of FATF standards are given a chance to clean up their act but can eventually see a hit to investment because banks are wary of doing business with questionable counterparties. Russia was suspended from the FATF after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 but has so far avoided being put on the body’s “blacklist” alongside Iran, Myanmar and North Korea.

A spokesperson for Russia’s financial intelligence unit, Rosfinmonitoring, said in an email that a Russian representative would attend the FATF meeting in Singapore in person as part of the team assessing India’s implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing standards under the so-called “mutual evaluation” process.

The spokesperson said that Moscow’s representative would also be attending some sessions relating to Russia and other agenda items remotely under the flag of the body’s Eurasian group (EAG). They said that the rights of the Russian Federation as an EAG member were being infringed by barring them from being physically present for discussions, the spokesperson added.

A spokesperson for the FATF confirmed that because Russia is suspended its delegation will not be permitted to attend the meeting in person.

The Ukrainian Finance Ministry declined to comment. Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs and the Monetary Authority of Singapore weren’t immediately able to comment.

Ukraine and some of its allies have long been arguing that Moscow contravenes many FATF principles, for example by increasing trade with countries like North Korea since the war began. Moscow has been pushing back because landing on the FATF lists would add to the financial restrictions it has faced since the invasion.

Some of Russia’s supporters have been sympathetic to Moscow’s view that FATF is a technical body that should stay out of politics, and have so far blocked further penalties.

Russia, which has called the suspension a political move, has aimed to influence the FATF process in the past by pressuring governments and threatening to upend defense and energy deals — and it looked to enlist allies such as China for help, Bloomberg has previously reported. It has also been trying to join a regional group in eastern and southern Africa as an observer.

Russia’s presence could prove disruptive to efforts to develop the curbs on dirty money if its officials manage to lobby other delegates because, under FATF rules, the opposition of even a few members can be enough to stop plenary decisions.

Some 21 countries, including Turkey and South Africa, are on the “gray list.” A report by the International Monetary Fund in 2021 found that this penalty, which involves closer monitoring requirements, results in a “large and statistically significant reduction in capital inflows.”