FinCEN lists crypto as AML and CFT priority

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network will continue to closely monitor the cryptocurrency industry as one of its top priorities in fighting crimes such as money laundering.

FinCEN officially announced on Thursday that “virtual currency considerations” or activities related to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) would be a top national priority in the fight against terrorist financing.

“Setting these priorities is intended to support all insured organizations in their efforts to meet their obligations under relevant laws and regulations,” said the regulator. FinCEN clarifies that it will shortly enact regulations that will determine how financial institutions should incorporate these priorities into their AML programs.

“FinCEN recognizes that not every preference will be appropriate for every insured organization, but each insured must apply each priority based on a broader, risk-based AML program at the time any future regulations to be enacted in relation to those priorities come into effect” the authorities found.

Regarding cryptocurrencies as “convertible virtual currencies” or CVCs, FinCEN indicated that these assets have become “the currency of choice for many illegal online activities”. Authorities then listed a number of uses of CVCs by criminals, arguing that it was a “preferred form of payment” for buying illegal goods such as ransomware tools or even promoting activities such as “nuclear ambitions”.

For example, since 2019, North Korea-related cyber actors have potentially stolen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of CVCs through cyber operations against CVC service providers, laundered CVC has been stolen via other CVC service providers and CVC wallets, and the proceeds are used to help Fund weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, ”FinCEN wrote.

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This news is in line with recent remarks by Brian Nelson, Treasury Undersecretary for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence. At a Senate hearing in late June, Nelson announced that he would push for the implementation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2020, which includes several “new crypto regulations”.

FinCEN’s growing attention to the crypto industry comes months after President Joe Biden frozen a FinCEN-backed rule to monitor cryptocurrencies on self-hosted wallets as one of the President’s first acts. The government, which made the proposal in late 2020 under former US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, plans to require all banks and currency companies to provide reports and verify the identities of their customers; customers involved in cryptocurrency wallet transactions.