The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international organization that fights money laundering and other illicit activities, is expected to work with Japan, which is the second biggest market for cryptocurrency behind the United States, for the introduction of unified cryptocurrency regulations in the coming months.
JAPAN IS WORRIED ABOUT ANONYMOUS CRPTOCURRENCIES
Last month, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) in Japan called on big economies in the G20 to adopt unified cryptocurrency regulations regarding investors and exchanges that are primarily concerned about the increase in the use of anonymous cryptocurrencies like Dash, Zcash, and Monero by criminal associations.
On the 14th of May, the most influential and oldest Japanese newspaper, Mainichi Shimbun, reported that an organized crime group in Japan called the Yakuza has laundered hundreds of millions of dollars using Bitcoin and Ethereum. Yakuza has reportedly done this with the aid of some Chinese intermediaries and through the services of various cryptocurrency exchanges. This group is said to be using the three anonymous cryptocurrencies listed above for money laundering made from its illegal drugs activities.
G20 COUNTRIES SHOULD HAVE UNIFIED CRYPTOCURRENCY REGULATIONS
A secret investigation, which was conducted by Mainichi Shimbun, reported that the criminal group called the Yakuza had laundered around $273 million since 2016, by launching several transactions on Japan’s most used cryptocurrency exchanges. In response, an FSA spokesperson said:
"It's very necessary to consider if any registered cryptocurrency exchange should be able to make use of these currencies. This is typical money laundering platform or scheme. In a way, I will not get surprised if you do something that is illegal’’The official also emphasized that only the Japanese government cannot limit the use of anonymous cryptocurrencies by these large criminal groups and suggested that G20 countries work together to apply unified cryptocurrency regulations.
"It is almost impossible for Japan to solve the problem alone, and that is why G20 countries should develop unified cryptocurrency regulations to fight against these criminal groups. Even if the trade is limited to only domestic transfers or even if supervision is upgraded, it won’t still be enough to fight against money laundering. It would be better if the whole group of 20 emerging and industrial regions and nations (G20) takes the same preventive measures. " said the official.UNIFIED CRYPTOCURRENCY REGULATIONS AS A POSSIBILITY
This week, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has reported that it has plans of starting discussions on the application of unified cryptocurrency regulations related to digital property exchanges. This would be done to make sure that all exchanges operating in big and leading markets such as South Korea, Japan, United States and Europe are in accordance with international regulations.
FATF, which is overseeing 37 G7 established countries, including France, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, USA and the United Kingdom accounts for more than 62% of the net wealth of the world. As such, if the FATF does not achieve a consensus for the implementation of unified cryptocurrency regulations, it is possible that the 37 FATF governed countries will adopt identical regulations.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://cryptocoremedia.com/japan-introduce-cryptocurrency-regulations/
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