Press Release
Promulgation of the "Regulations Governing Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing for Enterprise Handling Virtual Currency Platform and Transaction"
2021-06-22
Press Release
June 22, 2021
Promulgation of the "Regulations Governing Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing for Enterprise Handling Virtual Currency Platform and Transaction"
The period of public comments of the draft of the "Regulations Governing Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing for Enterprise Handling Virtual Currency Platform and Transaction" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") formulated by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) was completed and the Regulations will soon be promulgated and implemented.
According to Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the Money Laundering Control Act, the provisions governing financial institutions of this Act shall apply to enterprises handling virtual currency platform and transaction (hereinafter referred to as the "enterprises"). The regulations shall include the establishment of anti-money laundering internal control and audit systems, customer due diligence, record-keeping, reporting of currency transactions equal to or above the applicable designated threshold, and reporting of suspicious money laundering (ML) or terrorism financing (TF) transactions. The Executive Yuan designated the FSC as the competent authority of anti-money laundering activities of the enterprises and specified the scope of the enterprises on April 7, 2021. The FSC immediately commenced related legislative tasks.
The Regulations include 18 articles which are mainly based on the recommendations published by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and suggestions provided by external entities. They are summarized as follows:
1. Scope of the enterprises (enterprises registered in the Republic of China) and terminology used in the Regulations (Article 2).
2. Regulations requiring the enterprises to implement customer due diligence, enhanced customer due diligence, and ongoing customer due diligence (Article 3 to Article 6 and Article 8 to Article 9).
3. Regulations on compliance matters in virtual currency transfers (Article 7).
4. Regulations on record-keeping for the enterprises (Article 10).
5. Regulations requiring the enterprises to report currency transactions meeting or exceeding a certain amount (Article 11).
6. Regulations requiring the enterprises to implement ongoing monitoring of customer transactions and report suspicious money laundering or terrorism financing transactions (Article 12).
7. Reporting methods and procedures of the enterprise based on Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Counter-Terrorism Financing Act (Article 13).
8. Implementation of the anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing internal control and audit system of the enterprises (Article 14 to Article 16).
The FSC stated that the Regulations were mainly enacted to meet the FATF's international standards and the regulations of the Money Laundering Control Act. As the enterprises are included in the scope of the Money Laundering Control Act for the first time, the FSC will to provide ongoing assistance to the enterprises in implementing anti-money laundering tasks for one year after the promulgation of the Regulations.
The FSC wishes to remind people that virtual currencies (virtual assets) are highly speculative digital "virtual assets" which are not currencies. In addition, virtual currencies are not financial products authorized for issuance by the FSC. They are thus not eligible for investor protection mechanisms and virtual currency transaction platforms are not institutions authorized for establishment by the FSC. Due to the lack of transparency in virtual currency market information, they are susceptible to manipulation, speculation, price fluctuations, and high investment risks. The public is advised to thoroughly study the business model and assess the risks before engaging in transactions in order to avoid fraud or investment losses from damaging their interest.
Contact unit: Legal Affairs Division, Banking Bureau
Telephone: (02)8968-9625
If you have any questions, please send an email to the FSC's public opinion mailbox
(https://fscmail.fsc.gov.tw)
June 22, 2021
Promulgation of the "Regulations Governing Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing for Enterprise Handling Virtual Currency Platform and Transaction"
The period of public comments of the draft of the "Regulations Governing Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing for Enterprise Handling Virtual Currency Platform and Transaction" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") formulated by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) was completed and the Regulations will soon be promulgated and implemented.
According to Article 5, Paragraph 2 of the Money Laundering Control Act, the provisions governing financial institutions of this Act shall apply to enterprises handling virtual currency platform and transaction (hereinafter referred to as the "enterprises"). The regulations shall include the establishment of anti-money laundering internal control and audit systems, customer due diligence, record-keeping, reporting of currency transactions equal to or above the applicable designated threshold, and reporting of suspicious money laundering (ML) or terrorism financing (TF) transactions. The Executive Yuan designated the FSC as the competent authority of anti-money laundering activities of the enterprises and specified the scope of the enterprises on April 7, 2021. The FSC immediately commenced related legislative tasks.
The Regulations include 18 articles which are mainly based on the recommendations published by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and suggestions provided by external entities. They are summarized as follows:
1. Scope of the enterprises (enterprises registered in the Republic of China) and terminology used in the Regulations (Article 2).
2. Regulations requiring the enterprises to implement customer due diligence, enhanced customer due diligence, and ongoing customer due diligence (Article 3 to Article 6 and Article 8 to Article 9).
3. Regulations on compliance matters in virtual currency transfers (Article 7).
4. Regulations on record-keeping for the enterprises (Article 10).
5. Regulations requiring the enterprises to report currency transactions meeting or exceeding a certain amount (Article 11).
6. Regulations requiring the enterprises to implement ongoing monitoring of customer transactions and report suspicious money laundering or terrorism financing transactions (Article 12).
7. Reporting methods and procedures of the enterprise based on Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Counter-Terrorism Financing Act (Article 13).
8. Implementation of the anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing internal control and audit system of the enterprises (Article 14 to Article 16).
The FSC stated that the Regulations were mainly enacted to meet the FATF's international standards and the regulations of the Money Laundering Control Act. As the enterprises are included in the scope of the Money Laundering Control Act for the first time, the FSC will to provide ongoing assistance to the enterprises in implementing anti-money laundering tasks for one year after the promulgation of the Regulations.
The FSC wishes to remind people that virtual currencies (virtual assets) are highly speculative digital "virtual assets" which are not currencies. In addition, virtual currencies are not financial products authorized for issuance by the FSC. They are thus not eligible for investor protection mechanisms and virtual currency transaction platforms are not institutions authorized for establishment by the FSC. Due to the lack of transparency in virtual currency market information, they are susceptible to manipulation, speculation, price fluctuations, and high investment risks. The public is advised to thoroughly study the business model and assess the risks before engaging in transactions in order to avoid fraud or investment losses from damaging their interest.
Contact unit: Legal Affairs Division, Banking Bureau
Telephone: (02)8968-9625
If you have any questions, please send an email to the FSC's public opinion mailbox
(https://fscmail.fsc.gov.tw)
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- Update： 2021-07-12
