REGULATION: FATF Agrees on Action Plan to Drive Implementation of Global Crypto Norms

The Financial Action Task Force has agreed on an action plan to drive the “timely implementation” of its global standards for crypto, a report from its recent plenary meeting shows.

The plenary for the global money-laundering and financial crimes watchdog is made up of 206 members, including observer organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, United Nations and Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.

In Friday’s document, the watchdog noted that many countries have failed to implement its norms, including its controversial “travel rule,” which requires services providers to collect and share information of crypto transactions..

“The plenary thus agreed on a road map to strengthen implementation of FATF standards on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers, which will include a stocktake of current levels of implementation across the global network,” the FATF said, adding that a report on its findings is due in the first half of 2024.

FATF published its updated standards for crypto in 2019, but last June, it said only 11 of 98 surveyed jurisdictions were enforcing the travel rule and urged them to act faster.

The report also noted that strong crypto regulation is key to disrupting financial flows from ransomware exploits, adding that “criminals responsible are getting away undetected with large amounts of money, predominantly using virtual assets.”

In its country-specific recommendations – mostly addressing sanctions compliance – the FATF said Jordan “should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies” for assessing money-laundering risks involving crypto.