FATF Background Founded in 1989, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an independent inter-governmental body that develops and promotes policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering, terrorist financing and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The FATF Recommendations are recognized as the global anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist…
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The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently reported that only 58 out of 128 reporting jurisdictions advising that they have now implemented any the revised FATF standards, including the “travel rule.” This aligns with what we have found through our work with the FATF and with leading VASPs — identifying the Sunrise Problem as…
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On June 25, global anti-money laundering watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) completed a much anticipated plenary in which delegates finalized work in a number of important regulatory reports and guidance affecting Virtual Asset Service Providers worldwide. While a majority of the work finalized in this plenary won’t be released until the end of…
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Jurisdictions Race to Implement Regulation Regimes for Virtual Asset Service Providers while Industry Develops Travel Rule Solutions On June 24, 2020, the Financial Action Task Force met, albeit virtually, for the third and final Plenary meeting under President Xiangmin Liu, of the People’s Republic of China, to review progress towards implementing new anti-money laundering guidance…
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As more mainstream consumer and institutional investors embrace cryptocurrencies, it becomes increasingly difficult, if not impossible, for traditional financial institutions to avoid entanglements with the crypto economy. For example, banks face significant counter-party transaction risks from customers interacting with high-risk crypto exchanges—especially when a bank is unable to identify these transactions as to or from…
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Over the past year, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) have been scrambling to prepare for compliance with significant regulatory changes called for by the international financial crimes watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In June of 2019, the FATF updated their Recommendations that require VASPs to share specific sender and receiver information for cryptocurrency…
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Some in the cryptocurrency community were caught off guard when the global financial watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), recently endorsed much tougher guidelines for monitoring and transferring virtual assets. Its “Guidance for a Risk-Based Approach to Virtual Assets and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs)” recommends a new set of rules that would require…
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Two key regulatory bodies recently rocked the foundation of the crypto economy with new guidance that will have major impacts on exchanges and other virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The global anti-money laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), recently updated guidance that includes a “Funds Travel Rule.” In short, the new rule…
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Governments have a new “travel rule” coming your way, and it has nothing to do with what you can put in your carry-on. In guidance released on June 21, 2019, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) updated its recommendation regarding the need to adequately mitigate the money laundering and terrorist financing risks associated with virtual…
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