Israel is tightening crypto regulations to curb cryptocurrency crime. The Authority for Combating Terror Financing and Money Laundering announced via the authority director that new regulations have come into effect to combat criminal activity and normalize the use of cryptocurrency and other FinTech products. According to authority director Shlomit Wegman, applying these regulations will help establish order and clear standards.
The new crypto regulations are based on FATF guidelines.
New crypto regulations are expected to compliant crypto companies by setting at ease the minds of potential customers. The regulations are a direct result of standards imposed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2018. The Financial Action Task Force consists of 39 members and a global network of FATF-style regional bodies that collectively encompass 200 jurisdictions. It also takes away the unenviable task of self-regulation. Due to the previous lack of regulatory oversight and the speed at which money can be moved between different crypto entities, money laundering previously flourished in Israel.
Israel is partnering with other countries to fight crypto crimes.
Earlier, Israel partnered with the U.S. Department of Treasury to combat ransomware attacks, for which cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Monero have become the prime choice of the extortioners. Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing recently seized cryptocurrencies that were transferred to the Hamas organization for use by the Hamas military wing, amongst others. This was preceded by an increase in cryptocurrency donations made to Hamas. In this case, the interaction with crypto exchanges was the Achilles’ heel, making it easy for law enforcement to freeze criminal funds. Crypto companies are now required to submit reports like banks, and comprehensive client identification standards will be adopted to improve the granularity of digital paper trails.
