By Alexander Marrow
(Reuters) -Russia's Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on Wednesday there were no reasons for Russia to be added to the global financial crime watchdog's blacklist.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) suspended Russia's membership in February, saying Moscow's war in Ukraine had violated its principles, a step Russia denounced as dangerous.
Ukraine, which is not a member, has urged the FATF to go further and blacklist Russia at its meetings in Paris this week.
"I believe that there are no objective, technical reasons for adding us to the blacklist," Nabiullina told members of Russia's upper house of parliament, adding that Moscow had implemented an effective system to counter money laundering.
"The decision, if taken, would be politically motivated, but if such a decision is taken, it will of course have negative consequences for us," she said.
"This would above all negatively impact international settlements... It would lengthen compliance procedures even further, it could block some payments."
The FATF has said that Russia's actions in Ukraine run counter to its core principles aiming to promote security, safety and the integrity of the global financial system.
"They also represent a gross violation of the commitment to international cooperation and mutual respect upon which FATF members have agreed to implement and support the FATF standards," the FATF has said.
The Paris-based FATF is a 39-nation group that works to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and weapons proliferation.
It lists countries as "high-risk" if they have "significant strategic deficiencies" on these issues.
Russia is the first country to be suspended by FATF, though it remains a member. Suspension means it is barred from attending meetings and accessing documents, FATF has said.
(Reporting Alexander Marrow; additional reporting by Felix Light;Editing by Christina Fincher and Gareth Jones)
