Anti Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism

The year 2019 has seen a major shift in how we handle compliance in the scene of Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT). In the early part of the year we were informed through global media about major money laundering scandals happening in some of Europe's largest banks involving hundreds of billions of Euros

Standard FIAT transfers are not the only ones who have had a spotlight cast on them in relation to AML and CFT… Virtual Currencies have also been targeted in light of this stronger than ever before.

The Fifth AML Directive (AMLD5) is an extension of the AMLD4 directive and has been approved by the EU. In essence, it puts a stop to the anonymous nature of Virtual Currencies whilst promoting accountability and transparency in scene of trading.

This new amended directive expands to include Currency Exchanges, Custodian Wallet Providers, Retailers accepting virtual currencies and in some countries even private consumers using them to purchase or exchange goods over a certain value. Users should however soon also feel the need to comply with regulations as they evolve and get stricter. Knowing where your money comes from or where it is going should be in everyone's personal best interest.

The regulations will officially come into play in early 2020, with a few countries, such as Finland, already having these in place. This will put pressure on all actors: using, trading, purchasing, transferring or exchanging virtual currencies, to comply with due diligence checks, registers of beneficial ownership, taxation and knowing where your money comes from. The penalties for non-compliance are much stricter than anything we have ever seen before

Today there are very few tools and services which can help these actors be compliant in a simple way. They are either way too complicated or too expensive to use for the average trader/small companies. We believe that most of these actors are good people who just want to go about their day and be a part of this economic revolution we are seeing unravel in front of our eyes.

We are also excited about it and want to make it as simple as possible to be compliant.

Take a look at our solutions or get in touch with our team to know more about how you can be compliant and keep running your business or trades effortlessly.