Estonia’s anti-money-laundering agency has called attention to many problems it has discovered inside local crypto businesses, including questionable executives and illogical business strategies.
The Financial Action Task Force Travel Rule was implemented, the definition of VASPs was broadened, Estonian connections for businesses were mandated, licensing costs were raised, and new reporting standards were set for capital and information.
The reasons given for revoking the permissions of another 189 were “non-compliance with the requirements.”
The FIU brought attention to a variety of systemic problems it discovered at the businesses it closed down, including those involving deceptive public disclosures.
Some businesses, to provide just one example, had board members and corporate contacts listed without those people’s knowledge. Many persons were employed by rival firms despite their having fabricated professional histories on their resumes.
Business proposals from many firms were discovered to be almost similar and devoid of “any logic or connection with Estonia.”
Over the last several years, Estonia has made a concerted effort to adopt robust anti-money laundering measures across the board. The 2018 revelation that around $235 billion in illegal funds had been laundered via the Estonian branch of the Danish megabank Danske Bank is largely responsible for this.
As a member of the European Union, it will be required to apply the new Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) legislation in early 2025, which likely had a role in the recent strengthening of anti-money-laundering regulations.
MiCA imposes strict anti-money laundering and counterterrorism regulations on cryptocurrency businesses.
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