Two years ago, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had amended its standards, extending AML/CFT obligations to virtual assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). Now, it has published its second 12-month review of the status of implementation of these revised standards on virtual assets and VASPs. This review also analyses the changes in the risks, typologies, and the market structure of the virtual assets sector.
As per the FATF report, several jurisdictions have taken significant steps towards implementing the revised standards. Fifty-eight out of 128 reporting jurisdictions have now implemented the revised standards. Fifty-two of these jurisdictions are regulating VASPs while 6 are barring the operation of VASPs. The remaining 70 jurisdictions have not implemented the revised standards yet. Therefore, there is still a lack of consistent world-wide laws that can stop the misuse of virtual assets and VASPs for ML/TF.
The FATF has advised all jurisdictions to promptly implement the revised standards. Moreover, the FATF will publish a revised guidance on virtual assets and VASPs by November 2021. It will also expedite the implementation of the travel rule and monitor the virtual assets and VASP sector.
Source: FATF