The European Commission has said it intends to end anonymity in cryptocurrencies and introduce a new anti-money laundering (AML) agency to crack down on financial crime.
According to The Irish Times, the plans to introduce the AML agency are so the EC can enforce tougher rules on financial criminals.
The proposals were put forward by EC financial services commissioner Maireád McGuinness and aim to improve the detection of suspicious transactions and activities as well as closing loopholes used by criminals to illicit proceeds or finance terrorist activities through the financial system.
The new AML plan also aims to extend existing anti-money laundering regulation that applies to financial services to the wider crypto sector. This will require all cryptocurrency service providers to verify the identity of those sending and receiving transactions.
In addition, anonymous crypto asset wallets will be banned under the plan, with cash payments over $10,000 also prohibited.
Estimates by Europol recently found that around 1% of the EU’s economic activities currently involve ‘suspicious transactions’.
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