On 27th October 2022, the European Commission published its assessment of the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing affecting the internal market and relating to cross-border activities (SNRA), along with an Annex to the Report, assessing the vulnerability of financial products and services to risks of money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) in the EU. The report analyses the status and risk of cash-related products, including payments in cash and privately owned ATMs; the financial sector, including the retail banking sector, currency exchanges, the e-money sector, transfers of funds and money remittances, payment services, and crypto assets and virtual currencies; as well as some non-financial products like services provided by auditors and tax advisors. With regard to crypto-assets and virtual currencies, the SNRA concludes that the risks arising from crypto-assets have increased in recent years. The crypto-asset market is growing, both in terms of the number of transactions processed and customers, with an increased range of often-unregulated products and services. The report highlights that the main ML/TF risk factor is the limited transparency of transactions and of the identities of the individuals involved, and that other risks include the lack of customer due diligence (CDD) measures, a compliance immaturity, and overall limited understanding of ML/TF risks. The report also stresses that particular regulatory attention is required for items not covered by the Regulation on Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) such as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Overall, the level of vulnerability of crypto-assets to ML and TF is considered by the Commission as very significant (level 4). The SNRA highlights that crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) should prepare themselves for an effective implementation of new ML/FT obligations like the travel rule, including through the development of travel rule solutions. As such, the Commission will assess suitable ways to complete its regulatory framework so as to ensure that crypto-assets and all CASPs are properly covered by AML obligations, notably the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) travel rule on information accompanying crypto-assets transfer. The Commission will also assess the possibility of banning the opening, the custody and the use of anonymous crypto-assets wallets.
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