Europe’s new anti-money laundering watchdog has warned that crypto assets are its biggest challenge to stop dirty money infiltrating the region’s financial system.
Bruna Szego, chair of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority, told the Financial Times that the crypto market is a clear priority because it is “significantly exposed to money laundering and terrorism financing risks”.
Europe needed to be particularly on its guard against these risks, Szego said, because “our market is quite fragmented and many crypto assets service providers are looking to gain licences here” under the new pan-EU licensing framework launched at the start of this year.
Crypto assets also brought heightened risks because of their cross-border nature, their ability to be held anonymously and the speed with which they can be transferred, she said. AMLA, which was created last year and only formally assumed its legal powers on July 1, signalled its intent to focus on the crypto sector by warning about the risk of “inconsistent controls” between EU national regulators in a statement on Tuesday. Szego stressed that regulators needed to be “looking at the beneficial owner of the crypto asset service providers — who are their shareholders and where are they”. She added: “We need to be sure the owners are not involved in money laundering or terrorism finance.”
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