by Andria Papageorgiou

AML, Announcement, COMPLIANCE, CYSEC, News, REGULATORYApril 26, 20240 comments

CySEC Circular on EBA Guidelines: Enhancing Anti-Money Laundering Measures for Crypto-Asset Service Providers

We would like to draw your attention to Circular C640 (the “Circular”), issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (the “CySEC”) on the 26^th of April 2024, for the purposes of informing Regulated Entities, as these defined therein, about European Banking Authority’s Guidelines amending Guidelines EBA/2021/02 on customer due diligence and the factors credit and financial institutions
should consider when assessing the money laundering and terrorist financing risk associated with individual business relationships and occasional transactions under Articles 17 and 18(4) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 – Guidance to crypto-asset service providers to effectively manage their exposure to ML/TF risks

On January 16, 2024, the European Banking Authority (EBA) extended its Guidelines on ML/TF risk factors to CASPs, signifying a significant stride in the EU’s efforts to combat financial crime. The new Guidelines (EBA/GL/2024/01) underscore ML/TF risk factors and mitigating measures that CASPs need to adopt, recognizing the potential abuse of CASPs for illicit financial activities.

The risks associated with CASPs are manifold, ranging from the rapidity of crypto-asset transfers to the anonymity features embedded in certain products, heightening the susceptibility to ML/TF activities. Hence, CASPS must grasp these risks comprehensively and implement effective measures to mitigate them.

The amended Guidelines serve to equip CASPs with a framework for identifying these risks, offering a non-exhaustive list of factors indicating exposure to varying levels of ML/TF risk. By leveraging these risk factors, CASPs can gain insights into their customer base and pinpoint areas of vulnerability, thereby fine-tuning their mitigating measures, including the use of blockchain analytics tools.

Recognizing the interconnectedness of the financial sector, the Guidelines extend guidance to credit and financial institutions with CASPs as clients or exposure to crypto assets. This risk is exacerbated when institutions engage with unregulated crypto-asset service providers.

In essence, these Guidelines foster a unified understanding of ML/TF risks associated with CASPs and outline the requisite steps for CASPs and other financial institutions to manage these risks effectively. The amended Guidelines will come into effect on December 30, 2024.

In line with its overarching supervisory approach, CySEC urges all Regulated Entities to adhere to the Guidelines and demonstrate the appropriateness of their AML/CFT policies, controls, and procedures in light of identified ML/TF risks, thus ensuring robust measures to combat financial crime.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@apapageorgiou.com.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as financial or investment or legal advice on any matter. Andria Papageorgiou Law Firm is not responsible for any actions (or lack thereof) taken as a result of relying on or in any way using information contained in this article and in no event shall be liable for any damages resulting from reliance on or use of this information.