Policymakers
in
the
European
Union
on
Wednesday
reached
a
provisional
deal
on
parts
of
a
comprehensive
regulatory
package
to
combat
money
laundering
that
will
force
all
crypto
firms
to
run
due
diligence
on
their
customers.
The
Anti-Money
Laundering
Regulation
(AMLR)
is
a
broad-stroke
effort
to
combat
sanctions
evasion
and
money
laundering.
It
includes
the
creation
of
a
single
rulebook
and
sets
up
a
supervisory
authority
that
will
also
have
purview
over
the
crypto
sector.
The
European
Parliament
and
Council
(which
gathers
finance
ministers
from
the
bloc’s
27
member
states)
have
agreed
to
measures,
including
for
crypto
firms
to
apply
“customer
due
diligence
measures
when
carrying
out
transactions
amounting
to
€1,000
($1,090)
or
more.”
The
deal
also
adds
measures
to
mitigate
risks
in
relation
to
transactions
with
self-hosted
wallets,
Wednesday’s
announcement
said.
The
EU
last
year
finalized
specific
AML
checks
on
crypto
fund-transfers
alongside
its
landmark
Markets
in
Crypto
Assets
(MiCA)
regulation.
In
December,
the
European
Parliament
and
Council
agreed
on
setting
up
the
AML
supervisory
authority.
Wednesday’s
agreement
specifically
concerned
the
EU’s
sixth
money-laundering
directive
and
the
rulebook
as
part
of
the
AMLR.
The
package
may
have
got
tougher
as
it
went
through
the
EU’s
complex
legislative
process
in
light
of
U.S.
sanctions
against
crypto
anonymizing
tool
Tornado
Cash,
as
well
as
fears
that
crypto
was
being
used
to
evade
sanctions
by
Russia
and
even
Hamas.
A
lawmaker
leading
the
discussions
on
the
package
in
Parliament
last
year
assured
the
measures
won’t
seek
to
outlaw
privacy-enhancing
crypto.
Industry
body,
the
EU
Crypto
Initiative,
urged
lawmakers
in
May
2023
to
remove
planned
restrictions
on
privacy-preservation
tools
or,
failing
that,
to
include
a
“clear
delineation
between
prohibited
anonymous
high-risk
accounts
and
high-risk
anonymizing
instruments.”
“This
agreement
is
part
and
parcel
of
the
EU’s
new
anti-money
laundering
system.
It
will
improve
the
way
national
systems
against
money
laundering
and
terrorist
financing
are
organized
and
work
together.
This
will
ensure
that
fraudsters,
organized
crime
and
terrorists
will
have
no
space
left
for
legitimizing
their
proceeds
through
the
financial
system,”
Belgian
Minister
of
Finance,
Vincent
Van
Peteghem,
said
in
a
press
statement.
The
deal
now
needs
to
be
formally
adopted
by
Parliament
and
Council
before
it
can
take
effect.
