EU Warns Malta of the Dangers of Ignoring Money Laundering - page 2.

buwaytress

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Quote from: Schirer on July 19, 2019, 05:03:30 AM

Quote from: timerland on June 11, 2019, 04:19:13 PM

This warning could have for sure been sparked because Malta is seen to take away business from the rest of the countries in EU, when it comes to regulated/licensed bitcoin businesses, while the warning about AML may only be what's happening on the surface.

Malta is not taking away businesses from other EU countries simply because those businesses wont be in other countries because other countries have much stricter regulation. It is a miracle that EU has not imposed some stricter rules on Malta . There are a lot of big crypto exchanges registered there Binance,Okex, Etoro and most likely more.

Eu is just concerned the huge amounts of money going thru there unregulated.

Actually, it may have been a valid cause for concern, not necessarily restricted to Malta but to all these tiny "blockchain jurisdictions" formerly known as tax havens for complicated tax structures.

It's not really so much of a secret that the world stood by and allowed all the money to flow under their eyes and under the radar for so long. Now that they cracked down on it, it's only fair they extend that restriction to all forms of new money. For them bitcoin/crypto's just a new vehicle. They see it exactly as a new financial tech, and when you have clients now

audaciousbeing

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Quote from: alexcopper on June 11, 2019, 03:35:53 PM

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/eu-warns-malta-of-the-dangers-of-neglecting-money-laundering

Malta aka Blockchain Island has become the mecca crypto due to its favorable crypto laws. With the flood of crypto money to the island it's been taking the right steps to work on compliance such as partnering with crypto security firm CipherTrace to identify and prevent crypto crime.

Steps like this seems to help make the government quite happy in how to handle crypto and manage risk in countries. Would you agree? What else do we need to implement or be sure to watch out for?

Its important to further strengthen the law of the land to guide against money laundering and not because of the good guys but to those who will see the law as an avenue to commit atrocities at the detriment of those who wants to legitimately handle their activities. The regulation and compliance is also necessary to act as a catalyst against any one who might even be thinking of doing anything illegal thinking the law is open or silent about activities such as that in that locality.

Schirer

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Quote from: timerland on June 11, 2019, 04:19:13 PM

This warning could have for sure been sparked because Malta is seen to take away business from the rest of the countries in EU, when it comes to regulated/licensed bitcoin businesses, while the warning about AML may only be what's happening on the surface.

Malta is not taking away businesses from other EU countries simply because those businesses wont be in other countries because other countries have much stricter regulation. It is a miracle that EU has not imposed some stricter rules on Malta . There are a lot of big crypto exchanges registered there Binance,Okex, Etoro and most likely more.

Eu is just concerned the huge amounts of money going thru there unregulated.

countryfree

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Frankly, they should leave the EU. The biggest problem in Malta right now is overdevelopment.

It's a small island absolutely crowded with tourists. It would be a much nicer place if it had less tourists, and a few more money-launderers to compensate.

Cloverfield

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Why would Malta care if their economy is increasing and the EU can only warn them for something that is still so vague in the rest of the EU. Regulating or completely forbid a thing like Bitcoin is only possible when you kick in doors, regulate the whole internet and arrest everyone who owns/trades/accepts/whatever does something with BTC. Just accept the fact it’s here to stay and be like Malta. Pro-active and supports the future

joseafonso123az

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The warning of EU is fair, because the man reason why countries arent adopting this is the money laundering issue ( and also all the freedom that indviduals get from btc). Malta has to see how these crypto companies operate, and if there are issues with their finances, Malta should require and see what is happening with that business!

coolcoinz

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Quote from: dothebeats on June 12, 2019, 06:03:27 AM

Perhaps the reason why EU is pressing Malta so hard on setting up regulations is because most crypto businesses are taking refuge on the said island and do their business in there instead of the big guys in the Union. The question is up until when would they be able to be so 'crypto-friendly'? For sure, there will come a time that the little island would be a hotspot for money laundering and other stuff if left unchecked, and that's why the EU is stepping in. Of course, due to favorable crypto conditions, Malta becomes the 'Swiss bank account' of legitimate and illegitimate crypto users alike, and that's no good in the long run.

AML is not the only reason why businesses are running to Malta. I remember an article about a Polish exchange that had to move there because of some unfavourable conditions in the country. Long story short, they banks there were cutting ties with crypto businesses and the government demanded them to hand over all user information for the purpose of taxation, even people who didn't trade for fiat but only exchanged cryptocurrencies.

On one hand money laundering is bad, but on the other handing out user information to every agency that asks for it, even when they aren't investigating that user, is a bit too much. Show me the man and I will show you the crime.

marcbitcoins

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Although money laundering is really dangerous but i think if a certain country knows how to deal with this without sacrificing the benefits from crypto currencies then i believe this so called money laundering will not be a problem. There are lot of regulations that strictly implemented today but still the bad guys can find ways on how to deal with them, so hopefully EU will not act of their own as Malta is surely doing what is best for their economy.

jjbanks994

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We know that money laundering is going to happen, people will always find a way so it's a matter of how will we regulate this? I think we can look to Malta as a leading country and see that hiring a cyber security firm like ciphertrace is a great first step on crypto's side.

uray

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Quote from: alexcopper on June 11, 2019, 03:35:53 PM

Malta aka Blockchain Island has become the mecca crypto due to its favorable crypto laws. With the flood of crypto money to the island it's been taking the right steps to work on compliance such as partnering with crypto security firm CipherTrace to identify and prevent crypto crime.

Steps like this seems to help make the government quite happy in how to handle crypto and manage risk in countries. Would you agree? What else do we need to implement or be sure to watch out for?

Everyone knows that Malta is a free heaven for every companies and if they do not heed the warning then there will be strict regulations against them and i am sure they will not make things worse and comply to the demands of EU and US, i personally do not like these kind of restrictions but the way in which is market is going with all the scams, we need to have some regulations to get rid of the scammers from the market and since every transaction in bitcoin can be tracked it is not a big task if they want to catch all the scammers.

Naida_BR

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Quote from: alexcopper on June 11, 2019, 03:35:53 PM

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/eu-warns-malta-of-the-dangers-of-neglecting-money-laundering

Malta aka Blockchain Island has become the mecca crypto due to its favorable crypto laws. With the flood of crypto money to the island it's been taking the right steps to work on compliance such as partnering with crypto security firm CipherTrace to identify and prevent crypto crime.

Steps like this seems to help make the government quite happy in how to handle crypto and manage risk in countries. Would you agree? What else do we need to implement or be sure to watch out for?

Money laundering happens also in countries that they haven't adopted the blockchain technology.
They just found a way to regulate a country that seems to be thriving economically without giving them a crap about the decisions of the EU.

stadus

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No exception, soon there will be a universal regulation on crypto.
Crypto seem to be attracting more money and regulators are afraid of the money launderer as they cannot control it if such country is lax in regulation about money laundering. It's just a warning, nothing is serious here but like I said, sooner, they will be fully compliant just like the regulation in compliant countries.

figmentofmyass

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Quote from: gentlemand on June 14, 2019, 07:48:30 PM

It'll have to be true P2P, not quasi custodial like Localbitcoins which is getting ever more uptight. I just don't see that many people wanting to do it in comparison to sticking your card into nice, friendly-looking Coinbase.

we've established that most folks are okay with KYC. but where do people draw the line?

what the FATF is talking about goes far beyond just KYC. they're talking about global coordination among exchanges to report all transactions of $1000+, including requiring disclosure of information about recipients. presumably coinbase, bitstamp and their ilk will become even quicker to terminate accounts if they don't like what they see.

bisq to the rescue? plz? Roll Eyes

gentlemand

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Quote from: squatter on June 13, 2019, 05:53:17 PM

I don't think it'll drive away investors, but it could definitely change the nature of current trading practices. Some are speculating that these FATF guidelines will drive investors away from exchanges and back to peer-to-peer trading:

It'll have to be true P2P, not quasi custodial like Localbitcoins which is getting ever more uptight. I just don't see that many people wanting to do it in comparison to sticking your card into nice, friendly-looking Coinbase.

Things would have to get pretty desperate for the average dunderhead to consider it. All the same those look like some onerous requirements so perhaps in some places there won't be an alternative as exchanges can't afford to comply.

wattcrypto

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I feel that money laundering can easily be tracked more so on a public blockchain than say our fiat system though because we don't even know where the money is and goes. Having technology like ciphertrace's is necessary in my opinion

Slow death

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this pressure from the EU and many countries on money laundering becomes a big joke, I say it becomes a big joke because many politicians are money laundering mentors because when they steal government money they use their diplomatic passports and they deposit the money in another country, as if it were money from some of their country's company (fake company) and keep talking about that bitcoin is dangerous because of money laundering or the financing of terrorism becomes a big joke

squatter

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STOP SNITCHIN'

Quote from: gentlemand on June 13, 2019, 04:47:20 AM

Quote from: lohncontrol on June 12, 2019, 07:57:36 PM

It's a paradox but much regulatory in crypto will drive away investors.

No it won't. It's the price of doing business. If people refuse to countenance it then they won't get to play.

Many more investors will be driven away from platforms that don't toe the line and may be crushed at any moment.

I believe Coinbase will still be here in five years. Unless something changes I do not think the same about Binance.

Stuff like this - https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/06/12/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-fatf-regulation/ is not easing up, it's heating up.

I don't think it'll drive away investors, but it could definitely change the nature of current trading practices. Some -- including Coinbase -- are speculating that these FATF guidelines will drive investors away from exchanges and back to peer-to-peer trading:

Quote

U.S. exchanges may also lose customers, as instead of going through an exchange or another virtual-asset service provider (VASP), some may simply start trading with others directly, to safeguard their privacy.

“I get why the FATF wants to do this,” Jeff Horowitz, chief compliance officer at San Francisco-based Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange. “But applying bank regulations to this industry could drive more people to conduct person-to-person transactions, which would result in less transparency for law enforcement. The FATF really needs to consider the many unintended consequences of applying this specific rule to VASPs.”

If he's right, it could be a double whammy for exchanges. Increased compliance costs and a smaller share of retail investors.

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Quote from: Kemarit on June 13, 2019, 01:34:17 AM

Quote from: Harlot on June 12, 2019, 04:17:09 PM

~snip~

They won't because they are still slaves of the fiat systems for many many years. And since they are threaten by crypto, they have to step up and not let loose of this industry as Malta has been the safe haven for exchanges like Binance. They are really putting a lot of attention on crypto for the last three years, specially when it boomed in 2017 so they have to put at end to this. So obviously, Malta is a target now and I'm sure their will be other countries that they can bully and enforce everything they want to have total control again.

That seems to be right, I know most of the politicians out here who are also against cryptocurrency have something to hide with their swiss bank accounts, now that people have this kind of power with cryptocurrencies they seem to be afraid that normal people like us can transfer money without their rules stopping us. Now they are hot on our heads just because they see us taking advantage of the system. They are really worried about the economical imbalance it will bring once a lot of people will start getting rich with the industry.

gentlemand

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Quote from: lohncontrol on June 12, 2019, 07:57:36 PM

It's a paradox but much regulatory in crypto will drive away investors.

No it won't. It's the price of doing business. If people refuse to countenance it then they won't get to play.

Many more investors will be driven away from platforms that don't toe the line and may be crushed at any moment.

I believe Coinbase will still be here in five years. Unless something changes I do not think the same about Binance.

Stuff like this - https://thenextweb.com/hardfork/2019/06/12/bitcoin-cryptocurrency-fatf-regulation/ is not easing up, it's heating up.

Kemarit

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Quote from: Harlot on June 12, 2019, 04:17:09 PM

Wish they could say the same thing for Swiss and Cayman Islands bank accounts which have been used by big time criminals as part of their money laundering process. If they want money laundering to stop they should also step up their game for this banks in order for this criminal activity to stop. Just by putting their attention all in crypto first won't solve the problem, I just don't think that its efficient for them to focus on a small industry like ours at first.

They won't because they are still slaves of the fiat systems for many many years. And since they are threaten by crypto, they have to step up and not let loose of this industry as Malta has been the safe haven for exchanges like Binance. They are really putting a lot of attention on crypto for the last three years, specially when it boomed in 2017 so they have to put at end to this. So obviously, Malta is a target now and I'm sure their will be other countries that they can bully and enforce everything they want to have total control again.

Topic: EU Warns Malta of the Dangers of Ignoring Money Laundering - page 2. (Read 747 times)