“It is critical that the new EU authority explicitly includes crypto-assets,” said European Parliament member Luis Garicano.
The European Commission reportedly plans to have its financial watchdog group potentially oversee illicit crypto transactions with other authorities.
Crypto firms will be included under the purview of the Anti-Money Laundering focused group allegedly the European Commission’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority, which was first proposed in July 2021, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday. In 2024, the group will be “fully functional,” according to reports.
La Ley de Servicios Digitales protegerá a los consumidores europeos, pero la UE sigue rezagada en las transformación digital.
Necesitamos más inversión en innovación y un sistema universitario a la altura de EEUU y Asia.
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— Luis Garicano (@lugaricano) January 21, 2022
An EU diplomat reportedly stated that including crypto firms in the AML watchdog’s agenda was meant to explicitly cover crypto transactions under EU financial services regulations. The unnamed official reportedly wanted the group to focus on high-risk cross-border transactions facilitated by crypto service providers, not just banks. But the EU member states have yet to debate the proposed framework.
“It is critical that the new EU authority explicitly includes crypto-assets, as this is one of the fields most prone to money laundering,” said European Parliament member Luis Garicano.
If passed, the AML watchdog would be one of the first regulatory bodies to have jurisdiction over large areas of Europe. A January Chainalysis report showed that people laundered $8.6 billion worth of cryptocurrency in 2021, up 25% from 2020.
Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit, formed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to potentially track and seize illicitly used funds, was announced by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on February 17. The team was formed four months after the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team was established by former Deputy Attorney General Eun Young Choi.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
