The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance has introduced new rules for cryptocurrency companies in the country aimed at combating money laundering (AML).
According to the local official Gazzetta Ufficiale, the regulation lists all registration and reporting requirements for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). According to the document, if a company offers services related to cryptocurrencies in the country, it must register in a special register of VASPs approved in Italy.
The new rules were published ahead of lawmakers’ deliberations on the European Union Cryptocurrency Regulation Bill (MiCA), which aims to make it easier for companies to operate in all EU member states. However, the new rules include a requirement that does not quite match the EU’s ambitious VASP stance.
The Italian regulations state that in order to qualify for registration, an organization must comply with article 17-bis of the 2008 directive concerning loan agreements. According to this article, VASPs from another EU member state must have a permanent establishment in Italy. Local law firm Lexia Avvocati noted:
“Accordingly, VASPs that are registered in other EU member states will have to establish a branch or subsidiary in Italy in order to work with Italian clients. VASPs established in third countries will have to have an Italian subsidiary.”
In addition to the registration requirement, the document states that VASPs must report all information required under the AML rules to the local supervisory authority Organismo Agenti e Mediatori at the end of each quarter. The VASP registry will be created within 90 days of the publication of the document.
Although a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies in the EU was developed back in 2020, legislators have made little progress in agreeing to it. Last year, the chairman of the Italian Companies and Exchange Commission (CONSOB), Paolo Savona, warned that Italy would create its own rules if the EU did not speed up the development of regulation of crypto assets.
