Japan to Plug Loophole to Prevent Russia From Evading Sanctions Through Crypto: Report

Reuters reports a number of top government officials promising an imminent change to the country's Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act.

Mar 28, 2022 at 12:22 p.m. UTC

Updated Mar 28, 2022 at 2:27 p.m. UTC

Japan's National Diet Building (fotoVoyager/Getty images)

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The government of Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will soon submit to parliament a revision to its foreign exchange law aimed at blocking Russia from skirting Western sanctions via crypto, according to a Reuters report.

Following last week's Group of Seven summit in Belgium, Kishida in parliament on Monday called for amendments to Japan's Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno - speaking at a press conference - promised revisions would soon be submitted to lawmakers, the report said.
Speaking with Reuters, a finance ministry official said discussions had already begun on the proposed changes.
The revisions are aimed at strengthening protections against Russia trying to evade sanctions with digital assets.
Earlier this month, Japan's Financial Services Agency and the Ministry of Finance demanded that about 30 crypto exchanges not conduct asset transactions with sanction targets. At the time, the body representing crypto-asset exchange companies announced it "will take guidance and other necessary measures for members who are engaged in the crypto asset exchange business so that they can appropriately and smoothly respond to the response required by this request."
Exchanges today said they had started confirmation of the screening status of each member for reliable screening, and examined the possibility of efficient screening using a blockchain analyst.

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