The European Parliament has finally passed the AML bill, which will bring some new rules for EU crypto firms to navigate through the anti-money laundering regulations.
The Anti-Money Laundering (AML) bill has been a point of deliberation in the European parliament for some time. The parliament has finally passed the AML bill, attempting to prevent money laundering in the region. However, the bill brings its own set of rules for EU crypto firms as well. These firms, including crypto asset managers and crypto service providers, will have to abide by it.
The official report highlighting the event said, “The new laws include enhanced due diligence measures and checks on customers’ identity, after which so-called obliged entities (e.g. banks, assets and crypto assets managers or real and virtual estate agents) have to report suspicious activities to FIUs and other competent authorities.”
Centralized crypto exchanges will also come under the purview of this new law. Since the Markets in Crypto-Assets bill became law in 2023, crypto service providers came under it for regulatory supervision. Now, they also have to file the necessary returns and information with the anti-money laundering agencies, which could bode well in protecting their users.
The Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA) is the new regulatory agency under this law. The agency, with its head office in Frankfurt, will monitor the financial entities. The resultant crypto regulations could thus help the industry in preventing any scams and fraud in money laundering.
Apart from these crypto regulations, the EU is also engaging in exploring a digital currency. The European Central Bank (ECB) is leading the digital euro project. ECB board members have also spoken publicly about the digital euro’s use cases and potential. Earlier this year, higher crypto trading volumes were also reported in Europe.
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