The European Banking Authority (EBA) has extended its guidelines on money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk factors to cover crypto asset service providers (CASPs). Described by the EBA as “representing an important step forward in the EU’s fight against financial crime”, the amended guidelines aim to harmonise the approach that CASPs across the EU should adopt when implementing anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) measures into their businesses.
Some sector-specific risks EBA recommended that CASPs pay attention to include those associated with transactions, such those to or from self-hosted addresses, decentralised platforms or transfers involving providers of crypto-assets services that are not authorised or regulated; products, such as those containing anonymity-enhancing features; the nature of customers and their behaviour, including when customers provide inconsistent or incorrect information; and the customers’ or beneficial owners’ links to high-risk jurisdictions or transactions to or from jurisdictions associated with a high risk of ML or TF.
Due to the interdependence of the financial sector, the amended guidelines include advice for credit and financial institutions that interact with CASPs or are exposed to crypto assets. The EBA emphasised that the guidelines are not exhaustive.
The amended guidelines will apply from 30 December 2024.