EU members reportedly plan for AML watchdog to oversee crypto firms by 2024

In coordination with other authorities the European Commission reportedly plans to have its financial surveillance group oversee any illicit transactions at crypto companies.

A Tuesday Bloomberg report claims that a group of European Union member countries, led by Germany, and including The Netherlands and Spain, Austria and Italy, plan to include crypto companies under the Anti-Money Laundering-focused Group — purportedly, the European Commission’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority. This proposal was first made in July 2021. According to reports, the group will be operational by 2024 and “fully functional” by 2026.

According to reports, an EU diplomat stated that the inclusion of crypto companies in the AML watchdog’s agenda was intended to provide more explicit coverage of cryptocurrency transactions within EU regulations. According to the news outlet, the official wanted the group’s attention to high-risk cross border transactions that are facilitated by crypto service providers as well as banks and other financial institutions. The EU member countries have not yet discussed the proposed framework.

Luis Garicano (a member of European Parliament) stated that crypto-assets are a key part of the new EU authority. This is because they are prone to money laundering.

La Ley de Servicios Digitales protegera a los consumidores europeos, pero la UE sigue rezagada en las transformacion digital. Necesitamos mas inversion en innovacion y un sistema universitario a la altura de EEUU y Asia. Mi discurso en pleno pic.twitter.com/yZ0bYqcRD6
Luis Garicano (@lugaricano), January 21, 2022

The AML watchdog, if enacted would be the first regulatory institution to have the power to monitor money laundering in large European regions. Chainalysis’ January report showed that people had laundered $8.6 Billion worth of cryptocurrency by 2021. This is 25% more than the 2020 figure.

Similar: A new EU proposal seeks to tighten regulations on sending cryptocurrency

The United States’ Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be creating a virtual asset exploitation unit, a “specialized team dedicated cryptocurrency” to track and seize illegally used funds. This team was created four months after the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team was launched. It was headed by Eun Young Choi, former Deputy Attorney General senior counsel.