The establishment of an EU body dedicated to the fight against money laundering could also make it possible to better monitor cryptoactives, according to a study commissioned by the Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) and published on Wednesday 8 April.
"Given the cross-border nature of cryptoactives and their misuse, the establishment of a European money laundering monitoring body could have various advantages, especially if it is staffed with highly qualified IT personnel capable of analysing the money laundering risks brought about by new technologies", it says.
According to the study, the use of cryptoactives for financial crime has indeed become a growing concern. The establishment of such a body, as envisaged by the Commission (see EUROPE 12447/21), could in particular allow a more independent approach to cases compared to national financial intelligence units, it points out.
In addition, the document makes a series of recommendations on improving European rules on money laundering, in particular a broadening of the scope of the definition of virtual currencies, for example to include tokens.
It also suggests extending the list of obligated entities to financial service providers that are actively involved in the provision of services related to the offer or sale of cryptoactive or trading platforms.
Cybersecurity. According to the study, cybersecurity has become a major problem in the area of cryptoactives. In computer-based attacks, such as ransomware, criminals often ask victims to pay the ransom in virtual currency.
It therefore recommends that consideration be given to the introduction at European level of cybersecurity standards to be respected by intermediaries offering services in the EU. The Commission could, for example, consider drawing up a "black list" of the cryptomoney harvested via this type of attack in order to make it more difficult to use it in future transactions.
Consumers. On the consumer protection front, the document stresses the need for a common position on the legal qualification of cryptoactives as financial instruments.
For cryptos, which are not considered financial instruments under EU rules, the EU should, as a minimum, put in place appropriate risk disclosure requirements, so that investors can be informed of potential risks before committing funds to cryptos, he said.
The European Commission is currently working on a common approach to cryptoactives (see EUROPE 12394/29).
See the study: https://bit.ly/3aWYHLt (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)