Argentina is going to include cryptocurrency companies in its rules against money laundering. According to Buenos Aires Times, Argentina will put crypto companies under the AML regulations. Money laundering risks in Argentina are controlled by the country’s Unidad de Información Financiera (UIF). As reported, UIF is now working on adding crypto firms to the list of businesses. In addition, they have to report their AML information.
Regarding the issue, a person who works directly in this matter revealed some information. In response, new rules are supposed to start this year. Following more, if these regulations are passed, they will disrupt the whole market in Argentina. Correspondingly, it will change the way cryptocurrency companies comply with regulators in Argentina. This will be a big change. At the time of this writing, these companies are only supposed to follow the rules for 2019 tax reporting.
Regulations on Crypto and Money Laundering
Generally speaking, this isn’t the first time a regulatory body targets crypto companies. The main objective of regulatory authorities is to prevent money laundering. Similarly, in March 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom took the same step.
Since then, crypto firms have been required to submit yearly financial crime files. In addition, these files include information such as the number of suspicious activity reports produced within that reporting period.
This policy statement suggests that more organizations and crypto-asset businesses be included in the return’s scope. According to FCA, this will be applied based on their business operations and possible money laundering threats. Recently, both the United States and the European Union have taken significant regulatory action against criminal usage of cryptocurrency.
On the other hand, President Biden issued a crypto-related Executive Order earlier this month. In regard, this is the Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets. A portion of this Executive Order is focused on catching illegal money in the cryptocurrency business.
In the event of crypto regulations, members of the European Parliament participated in a voting session for this issue. As a result, the votes are in favor of a bill to regulate the markets for crypto assets. With the MiCA package, which is only a draft, the EU is hoping to harmonize its approach to regulating the crypto business in general.