EU authorities have agreed to tighten controls on crypto transfers over 1000 EUR

The new initiative also includes risk mitigation measures for transactions using non-custodial wallets

18.01.2024 - 11:40

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2 min

What’s new? EU policymakers have reached a preliminary agreement on part of a comprehensive anti-money laundering package. Specifically, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU agreed on an obligation for crypto service providers to apply “customer due diligence measures when carrying out transactions amounting to €1000 or more.” The agreement also adds risk mitigation measures for transactions using non-custodial wallets.

Information on the EU website

What else is known? The agreement is an integral part of the EU’s new anti-money laundering framework, Belgian Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem said in a press release. According to him, the initiative will improve the organization and interaction of national systems to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. This will leave no room for criminals to legalize their proceeds through the financial system, Van Peteghem added.

The agreement must now be formally approved by the Parliament and the Council before it can enter into force.

In December, the European Parliament and the Council agreed on the creation of an AML supervisory authority. The agreement, reached on January 17, concerned the EU’s sixth anti-money laundering directive and a set of the AMLR. The Anti-Money Laundering Regulation, a comprehensive project aimed at countering sanctions evasion and money laundering, includes the creation of a single set of rules and the establishment of a supervisory body whose jurisdiction will include the cryptocurrency sector.

Anonymous transactions of 1000 EUR or more were banned back in April 2022. In November 2023, the bloc’s lawmakers allowed a complete ban on such operations.

The US Treasury Department also noted that AML/CFT obligations could be applied to the persons behind DeFi protocols.

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