December 15, 2022
After federal prosecutors charged FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried with money laundering and fraud, among other offenses, Sen. Elizabeth Warren is attempting to get a cross-party agreement on money laundering in the crypto industry through Congress.
During a hearing of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren stated, “It is time for Congress to make the crypto industry follow the same money-laundering rules as everyone else.” Making reference to the FTX controversy, Warren further said liquidation of a popular crypto platform and civil action of its former CEO means that digital assets are “under serious scrutiny across the political spectrum.”
The Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act has previously been mentioned by Senators Elizabeth Warren and Roger Marshall. It would try and enforce KYC rules on crypto participants such as wallet providers and miners, as well as explicitly forbid financial institutions from transacting with digital asset mixers that hide fund origins. It will also target cryptocurrency money laundering as well as terrorist and rogue state financing.
The initiative also aims to promote fair competition by requiring crypto firms to follow the same rules as banks and traditional businesses. The act would also allow the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to implement a proposed policy requiring institutions to notify certain unhosted wallet transactions.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.
