newtech.law

Posted on Categories anti-money laundering

How the “travel rule” could change the world of decentralised finance

It has long been obvious that within the next few years we would witness attempts to regulate the world of decentralised finance. As it turns out, one of the most revolutionary laws may be introduced through an amendment to an obscure regulation on information accompanying money transfers.

I’m referring to the proposed changes to Regulation (EU) 2015/847 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on information accompanying transfers of funds—also known as WTR2. It is part of a broader package of regulations aimed at combatting money laundering and financing of terrorism. The main aim of WTR2 is to ensure that money transfers are accompanied by relevant information enabling identification of the parties to the transaction.

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Posted on Categories anti-money laundering, creative industry

Video games, virtual currencies, and money laundering

What could video games have in common with money laundering and terrorism financing? Not much, it might seem at first glance. The duties in the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Act are mainly addressed to entities involved in financial services, such as banks and payment institutions. The AML/CTF regulations don’t directly refer to video games or persons involved in their development and operation.

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Posted on Categories anti-money laundering

The future of EU money-laundering laws: Will there be an AML Regulation?

The question posed in the title may seem surprising. Only four years ago another AML directive was published, marking the next stage of development of EU rules on money laundering and financing of terrorism (known as the 4th AML Directive or AMLD4). Its predecessor, AMLD3, was adopted 10 years before that. And just over a year ago significant changes in EU law were adopted, known as AMLD5, and the member states still have time to implement the latest changes into their national legal systems, with a deadline in January 2020.

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Posted on Categories anti-money laundering, crowdfunding, cybersecurity, fintech

New technologies in the AML/CFT National Risk Assessment

On 17 July 2019 the General Inspector of Financial Information (GIIF) published Poland’s first AML/CFT National Risk Assessment. This document of nearly 450 pages was prepared pursuant to the new Anti Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism Act, which introduced regulations requiring GIIF to prepare a national assessment and update it periodically.

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Posted on Categories anti-money laundering

The next step in global regulation of crypto assets

For over five years, including within this blog, we have written about the changes in application of anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regulations to activity involving crypto assets. But further legal changes and notable new interpretations continue to arise.

As I wrote nearly a year ago, at the request of the G20 countries the issue of crypto assets was taken up recently by several key global organisations involved in establishing standards in specific fields. One of them is the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international organisation appointed to develop and assist in implementing and monitoring standards for combating money laundering, financing of terrorism, and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

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Posted on Categories anti-money laundering, privacy/personal data protection

Overzealous checking of customer identification can be harmful

Newly formed companies, and companies that have been on the market for some time, are becoming increasingly aware of their obligations under AML/FT regulations. Firms in various sectors, such as the technological sector, do not always realise that these obligations are only applicable to the types of entities listed in AML laws. Some businesses employ know your customer (KYC) identification procedures equivalent to those provided for in AML laws even though they are not subject to these laws. The problem is that overzealousness of this kind might be a breach of laws in other areas, especially personal data laws, above all the GDPR.

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