Stiffer penalties await culprits of money laundering who habitually use cryptocurrencies as a channel to avoid being noticed as the Tokyo government is making arrangements to amend some extant laws in respect of this.
It is now public knowledge that more and more countries are turning their searchlight on activities around digital currencies because of the increasing cases of negative occurrences recorded lately. Japan seems to have joined the pack.
Nikkei’s Disclosures
In a release, the Nikkei Asia revealed that a plan is being put together by the government of Japan essentially to block loopholes in the cryptocurrency market, that makes it seamless for nefarious activities such as the concealment and transfer of ill-gotten money, to pass through without a trace. To achieve this, an Act that prohibits the conveyance of funds that are deemed as illicit will have to be reviewed. The country’s legislative body will be dully notified, and ensure that appropriate sections are incorporated, in such a way that the crypto market is not excluded. This definitely tightens the grip which initially paved way for crooks to exploit to their advantage.
Stablecoins will be added into this framework as well but that will be in the incoming year 2023 when an existing regulation, authorizing certain financial institutions to procure stablecoins, has been adjusted.
For transparency’s sake, flow of funds directly from one exchange to the other must include sharing of basic data on each customer to determine the genuineness of the personalities that transact via the exchanges. There will also be adequate training given to the crypto practitioners in order to ensure their conformity with this new system. At the same time, the application of relevant punitive measures awaits offenders.
