RUSI Essay: The FATF Needs to Tackle How War is Financed

In this essay for The RUSI Journal, The Sentry’s Executive Director, Justyna Gudzowska,  examines the role of illicit financial flows in sustaining armed conflict and calls on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to address conflict financing directly. Justyna explores how money laundering, sanctions evasion, and illicit gold trading help fund wars, with examples from Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Ukraine. The essay makes the case for a global approach to identifying and disrupting conflict-related financial networks while helping financial institutions better assess risks in conflict-affected countries.