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South Korean Financial Regulator Confirms Privacy Coin Delistings- Adds New Guidelines to Report Unusual Transactions

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South Korean Financial Regulator Confirms Privacy Coins' Delisting — Adds New Guidelines to Report Unusual Transactions

South Korean financial watchdogs are about to start overseeing crypto-related activities in the nation, and additional barriers for exchanges keep appearing. Moreover, one of the South Korean regulatory bodies codified the measures announced last year on privacy coin listings.

No Major Domestic Exchanges Can List a Privacy-Centric Crypto-Asset

According to Electronic Times, the Financial Services Commission’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) confirmed that all privacy coins would be delisted from the domestic cryptocurrency exchanges.

The watchdog argued that difficulties in determining transaction details carry a high risk of money laundering through such cryptocurrencies.

Although the FIU just confirmed it, the local press first reported the measure in November 2020. The FIU pledged to ban privacy coins such as monero (XMR) and zcash (ZEC).

South Korean platforms such as Okex have since been forced to delist several privacy coins to align with the anti-money laundering (AML) rules.

However, as of press time, no major South Korean crypto exchanges have any privacy-centric cryptos listed. The Financial Intelligence Unit is the regulatory body responsible for dealing with AML matters.

Reporting ‘Unusual’ Transactions Within Three Working Days

Also, per Yonhap Times, the unit will ask domestic exchanges to flag and report any unusual transactions on their platforms “within three working days.” According to the FIU guidelines, the reports should specify the transaction’s values in fiat Korean won (KRW).

The regulatory body expects policy exchanges through a protection management system, which will gather information such as banking data and social security numbers. In fact, the unit wants that banks are also responsible for making exchanges compliant with AML rules.

The South Korean crypto bill will become effective in March 2021, after clearing a series of delays and discussions on who should oversee all the crypto industry from a legal perspective.

Also, the coronavirus pandemic halted discussions, as other bills were granted a significant priority on the pipeline.

What do you think about this news ahead of the South Korean crypto bill deadline? Let us know in the comments section below.

Kyrgyzstan Central Bank Is Set to Introduce Bills to Monitor Crypto Exchanges Activities and Forcing Them to Apply for Permits

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Kyrgyzstan Central Bank Is Set to Introduce Two Bills to Monitor Crypto Exchanges Activities and Forcing Them to Apply for Permits

The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic (NBKR) revealed its new-year plans for the national crypto industry. They are about to introduce two drafts to regulate the country’s exchanges that aim to combat terrorism, money laundering, and protecting consumers.

Kyrgyzstan Central Bank Set to Introduce Two Crypto Bills to Combat Terrorism Financing and Fraud

According to Sputnik Kyrgyzstan, the central bank’s bills hope to add a series of anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) measures that should force local crypto exchanges to report their activities. The country wants to reduce the risks of financing terrorist activities and to cut flows of criminal proceeds.

One of the motivations behind introducing such crypto bills is the growing interest among the cryptocurrencies in the country, said the NBKR, as most of their citizens consider it a widespread means of investment nowadays and a solution for cross-border payments.

However, the central bank provided the following issues that they expect to solve with one of the bills by monitoring transactions made through the country’s crypto exchanges:

“Lack of a favorable environment for the development of technology and business; the emergence of fraudulent schemes, the risks of financing terrorist activities and legalization (laundering) of criminal proceeds, as well as capital outflow; protection of consumer and investor rights.”

Seeking to Legally Define Crypto Terms

But the second bill also aims to force local exchanges to abide by a legal framework to fight crypto fraud, comply with a crypto-related tax system, applying for operation permits that should be asked to the NBKR, and also seeks to define terms such as “virtual asset” within the civil code, plus “cryptocurrency” and “cryptoassets.”

Per the local media outlet, the proposed regulation seeks to restrict legal entities and individuals’ rights to participate in the circulation of cryptocurrencies across the country, except exchanges and crypto miners. However, this point is pending to be defined in a final draft, as its definition remains ambiguous.

On August 11, 2020, news.Bitcoin.com reported that Kyrgyzstan proposed a 15% tax on bitcoin (BTC) mining to raise money to fight against the coronavirus pandemic in the nation.

What do you think about the upcoming crypto bills in Kyrgyzstan? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Kyrgyzstan Central Bank Is Set to Introduce Bills to Monitor Crypto Exchanges Activities and Forcing Them to Apply for Permits appeared first on Bitcoin News.

South Korea To Ban Crypto Exchanges From Handling Privacy Coins

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South Korea is to ban crypto exchanges from handling digital assets it considers “dark coins”. Regulator Financial Services Commission (FSC) is specifically targeting privacy coins such as dash, monero and zcash.

● The ban is with effect from March 2021. In an update to crypto regulations under the Special Payments Act, the FSC accuses privacy coins of facilitating money laundering activities.

● It says that transactions involving privacy-oriented coins like monero (XMR) or zcash (ZEC) are hard to trace for law enforcement agencies, including the Commission itself.

● That’s because such virtual currencies use complex techniques to obscure their transactional records – mainly for the purpose of hiding them from unwanted attention, such as law enforcement’s.

● The FSC is also directing that crypto exchanges implement strict know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) policies. It requires that the platforms check these details against government-issued documents such as IDs or passports.

● The exchanges will have to report their operations to authorities six months following implementation of the guidelines.

● South Korean platforms such as Okex have since been forced to delist several privacy coins to align with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) rules around money laundering.

● In the U.S., the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently awarded a contract worth $1.25 million to Chainalysis and data forensics company Integra Fec to provide it with tools that can break the privacy-focused coin, monero.

What do you think about the planned privacy coins ban in South Korea? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post South Korea To Ban Crypto Exchanges From Handling Privacy Coins appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Crypto Startup Avanti Receives License To Operate as National Bank in Wyoming

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Crypto startup Avanti Financial Group has been granted a license to offer banking services by the Wyoming State Banking Board.

The license, or bank charter, means Avanti can now operate as a conventional bank – but one with a twist, capable of holding both crypto and dollars. It plans to launch in 2021.

According to a statement published Oct. 28, the firm will also now be able to take custody of crypto assets like bitcoin while its plan for the creation of Avit, a tokenized US dollar, has been given the go ahead.

The company’s application for a bank charter was accepted in July, reports The Block. Avanti is the second crypto firm to become a bank after Kraken Financial, a unit of U.S. crypto exchange Kraken.

Avanti founder and chief executive officer, Caitlin Long, said “currently the only type of U.S. financial institution that can provide final and simultaneous settlement of trades between digital assets and the U.S. dollar is a Wyoming special purpose depository institution like Avanti.”

Avanti plans to issue Avit initially on both Liquid – a sidechain of the Bitcoin blockchain – and Ethereum. The company claims its tokenized U.S. dollar is “designed to solve the legal, accounting and tax issues of stablecoins.”

As a bank, Avanti will be required to fully comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and OFAC-related laws, rules and regulations.

What do you think about Avanti gaining a bank charter? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Crypto Startup Avanti Receives License To Operate as National Bank in Wyoming appeared first on Bitcoin News.

Dutch Police Seize $33 Million in Bitcoin from Couple Accused of Money Laundering

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Dutch Police Seize $33 Million in Bitcoin from Couple Accused of Money Laundering

Prosecutors from the Netherlands have seized 2,532 bitcoins worth $33 million after a couple was convicted of money laundering by the Rotterdam District Court. The man and his wife were sentenced to two years for illegal money transmission and the court claims the couple’s bitcoin stash was used on the deep web.

Dutch officials recently arrested and charged a man and his wife for illegal money transmission and money laundering. According to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service from the Rotterdam District Court, the two suspects laundered close to $19 million using bitcoin during the last two years. Most of the couple’s illegal earnings were stored in bitcoin and the Rotterdam police confiscated the stash.

The man and woman were residents of North Holland’s Hilversum and the couple will face two and a half years in prison for their crimes. Dutch prosecutors noted during the trial that the traders did not leverage proper KYC/AML guidelines while operating the business.

“Traders did not ask customers for identity papers, while large amounts were often exchanged,” the Rotterdam court filing notes. “The suspects, a man, and his wife, came into contact with customers through advertisements on the Internet and a marketplace on the dark web. Much of the bitcoins traded bore traces of the dark web. The court has established that the suspects laundered more than 16 million euros in two and a half years.”

Court documents show that the police confiscated two different bitcoin stashes with one cache holding 1,488 BTC and the other wallet held 1,044 BTC. In addition to the $33 million worth of bitcoins seized, Dutch police also took $295,256 in cash reserves. Court prosecutors said that the couple purchased bitcoins in order to exchange for cash. Police said that the couple leveraged methods to keep their customers unknown.

On a regular basis, the couple met people and businesses at fast food restaurant chains in order to execute the cash for bitcoin exchanges. Prosecutors believe a great number of these coins sold by the Hilversum made it to the deep web and were used on darknet marketplaces (DNM).

The Dutch police are well known for many bitcoin seizures and crackdowns against DNM operators. Four years ago, Dutch police arrested 10 individuals from the Netherlands for laundering large sums of bitcoins. The Netherlands law enforcement officials are also responsible for the great Hansa takedown, where undercover agents operated the DNM for over a month without customers knowing.

In addition to the $33 million in bitcoins seized and the two and a half year prison sentence, the couple must also pay fines individually. The couple will pay $53,137 for one levy and $162,955 for the forfeiture operations.

What do you think about the Dutch police confiscating $33 million worth of bitcoin? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

The post Dutch Police Seize $33 Million in Bitcoin from Couple Accused of Money Laundering appeared first on Bitcoin News.