The European Commission will form a new agency, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), to oversee the cryptocurrency industry in the European Union.
The European Commission has proposed to create a new body, which will include the regulatory bodies of European countries. The AMLA is supposed to become the “central agency” in Europe that will monitor whether cryptocurrency transactions comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The department will also coordinate the activities of state supervisory authorities, helping them develop methods for assessing the risks of cryptocurrency transactions.
As of today, digital asset transactions are not subject to EU financial services regulations. The absence of rules for regulating cryptocurrencies implies high risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, since the movement of illegally obtained money can be carried out using crypto assets, the European Commission believes.
In this regard, European legislators are developing new requirements for virtual asset service providers (VASP). They include stricter standards for collecting data on individuals who make cryptocurrency transactions. The obtained data will also be available to European regulators.
“Money laundering through crypto assets, terrorist financing and organized crime are still serious problems that need to be addressed at the EU level. The AMLA will make decisions regarding questionable organizations that may violate the AML rules, ”the European Commission said.
Sven Giegold, a member of the German Green Party, believes that with uniform standards and more centralized oversight of cryptocurrencies, the fight against financial crime will be more consistent. In addition, Gigold proposed to apply legal measures against other states that do not properly comply with the AML rules.
Recall that recently, the chairman of the Italian Commission for Companies and Exchanges (CONSOB) called on the European Union to accelerate the development of regulation of cryptoassets, saying that the EU “dragged on” this process too long.
