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Transcript/ScriptSAN MARINO RUSSIA
HEADLINE: San Marino's bid to access EU financial sector dogged by ties to Russia
TEASER: The European microstate is under scrutiny from EU regulators who worry San Marino could serve as a back door to illegal money from Russia
PUBLISHED AT: 8/12/24, 7:14p
BYLINE: Henry Wilkins
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: San Marino
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Luis Ramirez
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR; CAW, Reifenrath, Mia (ok)
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:25
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TV/R
EDITOR NOTES: FOR PRODUCTION WEDNESDAY))
((INTRO))
[San Marino, a landlocked independent republic surrounded by Italy, has been subject to scrutiny due to reports this year highlighting its ties to Russia. Although its officials deny wrongdoing, European Union regulators have expressed concerns that San Marino’s financial services sector could provide a back door into the EU trade bloc for illegal money from Russia. Henry Wilkins reports from San Marino.]]
((NARRATOR))
Ala Cucine makes fitted kitchens in San Marino, a tiny sovereign state in central Italy. General manager Lorenzo Arcangeli says the company is looking forward to gaining full access to the lucrative European Union market. But for now, selling to clients in the EU involves dealing with extra bureaucracy.
[[RADIO VERSION: Arcangeli says selling to the EU market has additional costs, which prove an obstacle for both the company and its clients. He says explaining the documentation requirements to European customers is not easy.]]
((Lorenzo Arcangeli, Ala Cucine (MALE IN ITALIAN)))
"It has additional costs and, therefore, the client finds it an obstacle and our company finds it to be an obstacle, too. Explaining the documentation to a European customer is not so easy."
((NARRATOR))
San Marino’s manufacturers are set to gain access to the EU single market, the world's largest trading bloc, under an agreement that could go into effect by the end of the year. But its finance industry has been locked out of the deal.
San Marino has been dogged by Western media reports about its connections with Russia. EU officials have also expressed concern that the country's failure to meet certain standards of financial regulation could open a back door for illegal Russian money into the EU.
In April, The Economist described San Marino's relationship with Russia as “alarmingly friendly” and "unusual." It revealed that the country had named Emmanuel Goût, a Frenchman with long-standing ties to the Kremlin, as its ambassador and failed to disclose his dual Russian citizenship.
A San Marino official told VOA that the article is false.
[[RADIO VERSION: Maurizio Bragagni is San Marino's consul to the United Kingdom.]]
((Maurizio Bragagni, San Marino Consul to the UK (male, English)))
"Not only was it inaccurate, but to try to sell a story, and I tell them, [who paid] them to do that? Because for sure it was not good for San Marino, the doubts that were spread around."
((NARRATOR))
The Economist article also noted that San Marino's honorary consul in Moscow until February was Vladimir Lisin, Russia's third-richest citizen, according to Forbes magazine.
In response to Bragagni's comments to VOA, The Economist's Europe editor said that they "stand by [their] reporting."
Breaking with its with its traditional policy of neutrality, San Marino voted to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a March 2022 U.N. vote.
Dmitry Potapenko, a Russian economist and politician, says relations between San Marino and Moscow have soured since then.
((Dmitry Potapenko, Economist - MALE IN RUSSIAN)) ((Zoom))
"So, the changes are, as they say, that the relations are tense. Whether they become more tense and whether the Russian Federation will use San Marino to get around the sanctions? I do not think so."
[[RADIO VERSION: He said relations have changed and are now tense. He doubts that they will become worse or that Russia will use San Marino to get around international sanctions.]]
((NARRATOR))
But analysts say EU banking authorities have good reason to scrutinize San Marino's bid for increased access to the bloc's financial sector.
[[RADIO VERSION: Jonathan Katz is a recognized anti-corruption, democracy and national security expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington.]]
((Jonathan Katz, Brookings Institution (male, English))) ((Zoom))
"If the EU is raising the flag, it's very serious, and they’ve done their due diligence. Maybe this is unusual for them [San Marino leaders] to feel this type of pressure because they may not receive that much attention globally for these issues, but it doesn’t matter."
((NARRATOR))
While manufacturing businesses like Arcangeli’s look forward to a boon from gaining full access to the EU market, another European microstate, Monaco, dropped out of similar negotiations with the EU last year after regulators expressed concerns over its financial practices.
((Henry Wilkins, VOA News, San Marino))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateAugust 12, 2024 19:47 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
