The European Union (EU) has recently adopted new measures to strengthen its anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and evasion of sanctions policies. MEPs approved stricter rules to close existing gaps in combating these illicit activities within the EU. Coinfirm, a leading blockchain analytics platform, is dedicated to helping businesses navigate these regulatory changes effectively.
Key EU Measures:
Establishment of the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA): The new AMLA will have supervisory and investigative powers to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) requirements across EU member states.
Enhanced Customer Identity Verification: Banks, asset managers, and other entities will be required to verify their customers’ identity, ownership, and control of companies. This includes conducting due diligence, assessing sector-specific money laundering and terrorist financing risks, and transmitting relevant information to a central register.
Caps on Cash Payments and Crypto-Asset Transfers: The EU has set limits on cash payments (€7,000) and crypto-asset transfers (€1,000) that can be accepted by persons providing goods or services when the customer cannot be identified. These caps aim to restrict transactions in cash and crypto-assets, mitigating the risk of misuse by criminals.
Banning of “Golden Passport” Schemes and Strict Controls on “Golden Visas”: The EU aims to ban citizenship-by-investment schemes (“golden passports”) and impose strong anti-money laundering controls on residence-by-investment schemes (“golden visas”) due to their high risk of misuse.
Creation of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) in Each Member State: Each member state will establish an FIU to prevent, report, and combat money laundering and terrorist financing. FIUs will share information with each other and with competent authorities, as well as cooperate with AMLA, Europol, Eurojust, and the European Public Prosecutor’s office.
Increased Transparency with Access to Beneficial Ownership Registers: National FIUs and other competent authorities will have access to information on beneficial ownership, bank accounts, land or real estate registers, and high-value goods such as yachts, planes, and cars.
How Coinfirm’s Advanced Blockchain Analytics Solutions Can Help:
With industry-leading coverage of over 1,073,000 virtual assets and monitoring of 30,000+ blockchain entities, Coinfirm offers cutting-edge analytics solutions to assist businesses in navigating these regulatory changes effectively. Coinfirm’s platform provides features such as:
- Effective transaction screening
- Blockchain activity investigation and tracking
- Entity due diligence
- AML risk reports for full compliance
- Market reports and analysis
- Monitoring panel for changing risk patterns
- Case management tools
- Risk source identification
- Sanctions screening
As the EU intensifies its efforts to improve transparency and security in the cryptocurrency sector, it’s essential for organizations to stay informed and adapt to the evolving landscape. By leveraging Coinfirm’s advanced analytics solutions, businesses can ensure compliance with the latest EU regulations and contribute to a more secure and transparent cryptocurrency ecosystem.
