The European Union (EU) is planning on banning cryptocurrency anonymity to stop money laundering schemes.
A new anti-laundering plan has been devised, encompassing tougher rules to crack down on crime.
The aim is to "improve detection of suspicious transactions and activities, and to close loopholes used by criminals to launder illicit proceeds or finance terrorist activities through the financial system."
Money Laundering at Large Within EU
There is a major problem in the EU: money laundering schemes involving roughly 1% of the entire economy being involved in "suspicious transactions," indicated by Europol.
The proposal to combat money laundering operations came from the pressure on Europe's law enforcement after several countries have begun investigating the Danish multinational Danske Bank.
The investigation came at an astounding €200 billion in suspicious activities and transactions passed through the small Estonian subsidiary between 2007 and 2015.
Cryptocurrency Now Being Focused By-Law Enforcement
Financial services commissioner Maireád McGuinness told The Irish Times that "those involved in the cryptocurrencies space will now realise that anonymity is gone."
It means that everyone who transacts with cryptocurrency will be revealed. This is to help curb money laundering throughout the whole of the EU.
Owners who have dabbled in cryptocurrency will now be revealed. This included virtual assets, senders, receivers, and all transactions should be verified by all the crypto service providers as mandated.
McGuinness said that this is to allow officials to track suspicious activities and transactions and that the new rules would bring the cryptocurrency as the same as the rest of the financial industry.
"Same activity, same risk, same rules. So in other words, we're just asking those who are engaged in the crypto sphere to be covered in the same way as their counterparts," the commissioner further said.
Supervision is Necessary
The new proposals would mean that a new authority would supervise the riskier financial institutions that coordinate with local and international authorities on the flow of cross-border cash.
The rules would put national registers of bank accounts that can provide law-enforcement agencies access to its systems. It would allow officials to quickly speed up financial investigations for criminal assets and cross-border cases.
McGuinness said that European member states would bring the into line to ensure that the criminals cannot go around looking for other European member states so that that they can't transfer funds as easily as before.
The commissioner further wishes to convey her determination to root out money laundering from a global point of view with the strong statement she issued in the European Union.
She went ahead and said that people often don't perceive the effects of what money laundering does and what it can do. Crimes like drug abuse and child prostitution are only some of the things she mentioned during her statement.
The commissioner has stated that people shouldn't allow corrupt individuals to get wealthy while they commit the deeds, or enable people to do so just because of the anonymity of the cryptocurrency market that has now been widespread over the globe.
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Written by Alec G.
