Through Circular C589, CySEC has announced Moneyval’s publication of the Report on “Money Laundering and terrorist financing risks in the world of virtual assets”. The report explores various areas including, Moneyval’s members compliance with FATF R.15, the measures taken to regulate & supervise the VASP’s sector as well as some features of the identified risks that criminals use VASPs and virtual assets to launder proceeds of crime.
Some key takeaways from the report are:
- Most Moneyval members require major or moderate improvements in the implementation of FATF R.15.
- Members reported that it was challenging to determine the materiality of the sector.
- The use of technological tools remains a good practice for the identification and assessment of risks.
- The licensing, registration and regulation of VASP’s remains a challenge, due to the designated supervisor’s capacity to understand the particularities of the sector.
- There are still issues with the monitoring of cross border transactions, including the application of travel rule.