Last week, the European Council proposed anti-money laundering regulations, including a new EU rule which would demand crypto exchanges conduct due diligence on every crypto transaction worth €1,000 or more.
A statement was released following the European Council meeting of European Finance Ministers on December 7.
“Large cash payments beyond €10,000 will become impossible,” said Czech Minister for Finance Zbyněk Stanjura. “Trying to stay anonymous when buying or selling crypto-assets will become much more difficult.
“Hiding behind multiple layers of ownership of companies won’t work any more. It will even become difficult to launder dirty money via jewellers or goldsmiths.”
The rule, which applies to all crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), has yet to be approved by the European Parliament. However, it’s likely to go through — legislative processes are in their final and concluding stages.
EU finance ministers had their eyes set on crypto regulation
Two years ago, France’s Finance Minister, Bruno La Maire, made a similar crypto proposal to the European Council.
“We must dry up all the financial circuits of terrorism to the smallest euro,” he claimed. La Maire also proposed to combat anonymity in crypto transfers.
Read more: Former EU commissioner involved in suspected crypto Ponzi scheme
Earlier this year, Fernando Medina proposed to curb Portugal’s crypto tax heaven status by introducing a new tax on crypto profits. The new proposed EU anti-money laundering rules would bump up the chances that Portugal’s proposed crypto tax goes through.
The EU Parliament can still opt to change the proposed rule and amend the directive, but the European Council would eventually have the last say over any concluding draft.
For more informed news, follow us on Twitter and Google News or listen to our investigative podcast Innovated: Blockchain City.
Source: https://protos.com/eu-finance-ministers-push-for-checks-on-crypto-transactions-above-1000/