Sanctions and Illicit Finance Monitoring and Analysis Network (SIFMANet)
SIFMANet brings together research institutions to raise awareness and inform policymaking against the illicit financial flows that continue to undermine our democracies.
SIFMANet is a collaborative network, led by the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI, in collaboration with RUSI Europe, and supported by the National Endowment for Democracy. The network aims to bolster the response of EU member states to the national security threat posed by illicit finance to democracies and to provide viable policy recommendations.
The Russian war in Ukraine has shattered the stability of Europe and brought to the fore the role of finance in international security. Yet very rarely is the national security threats posed by illicit finance to our societies considered, allowing it to subvert democracies and threaten the rule of law.
SIFMANet will bring together civil society and academic experts to engage with governments and their private sectors in boosting the ability of the EU to think about and respond to illicit finance beyond the criminal dimension.
Updated recommendations
Translated Recommendations
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Czech Translation
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Hungarian Translation
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Latvian Translation
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Lithuanian Translation
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Polish Translation
Our team
Kinga Redlowska
Head of CFS Europe
Centre for Finance and Security
Tom Keatinge
Director, CFS
Centre for Finance and Security
Gonzalo Saiz Erausquin
Research Fellow
Centre for Finance and Security
Vlada Yaremenko
Russia Sanctions Implementation Project Officer
Centre for Finance and Security
Balázs Gyimesi
Communications and Events Manager, RUSI Europe
RUSI Europe
Przemysław Biskup
Senior Research Fellow, European Union Programme, The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Steven Blockmans
Senior Fellow, ICDS
Tamás Boros
Executive Director, Equilibrium Institute
Karlis Bukovskis
Director, LIIA
Justine Elferte
Associated Researcher, LIIA
Boris Kaliský
Director of Operations, Prague Security Studies Institute
Sebastian Mack
Policy Fellow for European Financial Markets, Jacques Delors Centre
Sylvie Matelly
Director, Institut Jacques Delors
Jaunius Rastenis
Expert at the Center of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering
Roger W. Robinson, Jr.
Chairman and Co-Founder, Prague Security Studies Institute
Charlotta Rodhe
Acting Deputy Director, Analyst, SCEEUS
Natia Seskuria
Associate Fellow; Founder and Executive Director of RISS
Objectives
As a vibrant network of various European research institutions, SIFMANet intends to address identified shortcomings and unanswered challenges that EU member states face. It aims to:
- Promote the effective implementation of EU sanctions on Russia by bolstering the under-resourced and over-stretched capacity of member states.
- Highlight the importance of applying a national security lens to the threats posed by illicit finance to the EU and connected states and their democratic systems.
- Create a network of EU academic and research institutions that work together to ensure sanctions and illicit finance remain central to the EU security and policy agenda, as part of the wider EU focus on defending democracy.
Roundtables
Read the roundtable discussion summaries and watch some of the session recordings
Summit
The SIFMANet Summit on 9 March 2023 convened the network’s experts from across Europe to address the challenges of effective implementation of sanctions against Russia, by exchanging best practices and examining viable solutions on national and European levels.
Translated Recommendations
Recommendations for Effective Sanctions Against Russia - Czech Translation
Recommendations for Effective Sanctions Against Russia - French Translation
Recommendations for Effective Sanctions Against Russia - Lithuanian Translation
Recommendations for Effective Sanctions Against Russia - Polish Translation
Translated Recommendations
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Czech Translation
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Hungarian Translation
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Latvian Translation
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Lithuanian Translation
2024 SIFMANet Recommendations: Making Sanctions Work - Polish Translation
Network members and sponsor
Center of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering, Lithuania
The Centre of Excellence in Anti-Money Laundering (AML Centre of Excellence) combines the efforts of public and private sectors in strengthening the framework on anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CTF).
Find out moreClingendael Institute
The Clingendael Institute is an independent think tank and academy on international affairs, based in The Hague. Through its analyses, training, publications and events, Clingendael aims to inspire and equip governments, businesses, and civil society in order to contribute to a secure, sustainable and just world. Clingendael offers 40 years of top knowledge and training.
Find out moreEquilibrium Institute
The Equilibrium Institute is Hungary’s independent think tank. In order to renew the political discourse in Hungary, we draft political, economic and cultural future visions and write detailed policy proposals and strategies based on these visions. We are engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the most important political, economic and cultural decision-makers. We persuade them of the importance of implementing our policy proposals, and we provide expert assistance in the process of policy implementation.
Find out moreJacques Delors Centre, Hertie School, Germany
At the Jacques Delors Centre, academic research goes hand in hand with the development of concrete ideas for future-oriented EU policies. In our think tank work, our analyses provide an independent, non-partisan view of European policy processes and decisions.
Find out moreHybrid CoE
Hybrid CoE is an international, autonomous network-based organization promoting a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to countering hybrid threats. Participation in the Centre’s activities is open to all EU and NATO countries, and the number of Participating States has grown to include 32 states today.
Find out moreIRIS, France
The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) is one of the main independent European Think Tanks on geopolitical and strategic issues.
Find out moreInternational Centre for Defence and Security - Estonia (ICDS)
ICDS aims to advance the transatlantic community’s strategic thinking on the security challenges facing the Baltic-Nordic region, from armed or cyber attacks to threats against social cohesion and energy security.
Find out moreLatvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA)
LIIA is Latvia’s oldest research center, and it is the country’s best known and most internationally recognized think tank specializing in international affairs. The Latvian Institute of International Affairs was established in Riga on 20 May 1992 and was initially funded by a number of grants from the Swedish government to support research on the security of the Baltic States. The transfer of skills and knowledge has been greatly facilitated by its long-standing cooperation with the Swedish Institute of International Affairs.
Find out moreThe Polish Institute for International Affairs (PISM)
The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) is a leading Central European think tank that positions itself between the world of politics and independent analysis.
Find out morePrague Security Studies Institute
The Prague Security Studies Institute (PSSI) is dedicated to identifying and analysing a range of security-related challenges facing the post-communist states and allied partners worldwide, with a focus on countering economic and financial hybrid warfare and threats to the space domain.
Find out moreRegional Institute for Security Studies (RISS)
The Regional Institute for Security Studies (RISS) is an independent, non-partisan research Institute with a focus on defence, security and intelligence studies. RISS provides independent research and analysis on a wide range of regional and global challenges with a special focus on the wider Black Sea region and its importance for international actors. RISS operates in partnership with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
Find out moreRUSI Europe
Based in Brussels, RUSI Europe builds on the Royal United Services Institute’s almost 200 years of expertise in security and defence. We carry out research, provide a forum for security and defence dialogues, and are committed to help solve the most urgent security and defence challenges. Our mission is to leverage the Institute’s research capacities to inform policy-making at the EU, NATO and among their member states.
Find out moreStockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS)
The Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) is an independent centre of knowledge based at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI). The geographical scope of SCEEUS comprises Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine.
Find out moreThink Tank EUROPA
Think Tank EUROPA is an independent Copenhagen-based think tank focusing on Europe. We strive to ensure that European affairs with a Danish perspective become more visible in national policy debates.
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Project sponsor
National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, non-profit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. Each year, NED makes more than 2,000 grants to support the projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 100 countries.
Find out more