Political unrest in the Ukraine is likely to pose corruption risks for U.K. banks, warns Transparency International, a global anti-corruption coalition. It is urging comprehensive sanctions and anti-money laundering efforts in the U.K. and financial centers around the world.

“Your government has invested in learning from the experience of slow international response to freezing corrupt assets in wake of the Arab Spring,” the group wrote in a Feb. 21 letter to U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne. “Those lessons should now be applied to the situation in the Ukraine. [The government] should, without delay, take a proactive role to remind all risk sectors, and their relevant regulators, of their obligations to examine money laundering risks related to members and associates of the current Ukrainian regime.”

Protests against the Ukrainian government have escalated, met with bloody retaliation, over the past several days. Among the catalysts for thousands to take to the streets, was the government's rejection of a European trade deal, opting to instead strengthen ties with Russia.The spate of violence is among the worst seen during the 25 years since the Ukraine became independent from the former Soviet Union.

The Council of the European Union, at a Feb. 20 meeting in Brussels, agreed to targeted sanctions against those in the Ukrainian government it says are responsible for human rights violations. It urged strict enforcement of anti-money laundering legislation and fully investigating suspicious asset holdings that could trace back to those political leaders.

“Powerful Ukrainian elites have for years allegedly hidden ill-gotten gains throughout the European Union while the authorities failed to apply their anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws to stop them,” Transparency International said in a statement issued along with the letter to Osborne. The theft of state resources in Ukraine is reflected in its research, which shows that  showing that 74 percent of surveyed Ukrainians believe public sector corruption is a serious problem. The Ukraine scored 25 out of 100 in its 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index, making it the lowest scoring country in Europe.

“The enforcement of anti-money laundering laws has been weak in the past and we hope a thorough and robust enforcement of sanctions against corrupt Ukrainian officials will establish a benchmark for stronger enforcement down the road,” says Cobus de Swardt, managing director of Transparency International. The groups national chapters will be also be contacting anti-money laundering authorities in their respective countries, urging them to also consider freezing Ukrainian assets.

Transparency International and its chapters across Europe are also putting financial service providers, luxury estate agents, and professional intermediaries on notice about the risk of illicit flows from the Ukraine through European capitals. “They should immediately be required to carry out enhanced Know Your Customer investigations if they suspect any connection between their business and corrupt assets from the Ukraine, including all Politically Exposed Persons,” the letter says. “Any related requests to transfer assets out of the U.K. should be regarded as suspicious transactions.”