EU Wants New Anti-Money Laundering Authority to Have Crypto Oversight: Report

The EU is setting up an anti-money laundering watchdog, and leaders want it to have strict oversight of crypto firms.

By Sandali Handagama

Feb 24, 2022 at 1:24 p.m. UTC

Updated Feb 24, 2022 at 5:58 p.m. UTC

EU lawmakers want new AML authority to supervise crypto firms (Santiago Urquijo/Getty)

Sandali Handagama

Sandali Handagama is a CoinDesk reporter with a focus on crypto regulation and policy. She does not own any crypto.

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European Union (EU) leaders are working to set up strict oversight of crypto firms to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, according to a Bloomberg report.

A group of EU member states is seeking to give the bloc's new anti-money laundering (AML) watchdog oversight into cryptocurrency firms, according to the report, published Tuesday.
The group is led by Germany and includes Spain, Austria and Italy, Bloomberg said, citing an unidentified EU diplomat. "They want the EU watchdog’s remit to cover the riskiest cross-border entities among banks, financial institutions and crypto assets service providers," the diplomat said.
The establishment of an AML authority was proposed by the European Commission, the EU's executive arm responsible for proposing legislation, in July 2021. The authority's mandate is the direct and indirect AML supervision across the bloc's 27 member states.
The proposal does not go into detail when it comes to virtual assets.
EU leaders have accelerated efforts to regulate all aspects of crypto. Lawmakers are pushing for a ban on cryptocurrency mining, while discussions on a comprehensive package for regulating the industry at the EU level, are set to kick off this month.
The Commission expects the AML authority to be operational in 2024.

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