Today in TechREG, three European Union supervisory authorities, including the banking and financial markets authorities, advocated for amending sectoral laws to include more powers to strip companies’ authorizations for serious breaches of anti-money laundering (AML) violations. In the U.S., the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) invited stakeholders to provide input on potential regulation related to cryptocurrency assets following an executive order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom May 4.
EU Supervisors Seek More Powers to Strip Licenses for AML Violations
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published a joint report Wednesday (June 1) advocating for the introduction in all relevant EU sectoral laws of a specific legal ground to revoke licenses for breaches of AML/combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) rules.
The report acknowledged that the competent authorities may rely on grounds under EU or national law provisions to withdraw the authorization for serious breaches of AML/CFT rules. However, it is often the case that the legal provisions don’t provide a clear authority to withdraw the authorization based on AML breaches alone, and cases need to be built using other legal basis, the ESAs argued. Therefore, the ESAs proposed that sectoral laws be amended to insert an express legal ground specifically empowering them to withdraw the authorization or the registration as the case may be, solely for serious breaches of AML/CFT rules.
California Agency Seeks Input on Crypto Regulation
The DFPI in California invited stakeholders Wednesday to provide input on potential regulation related to crypto assets following an executive order issued by Newsom. The DFPI seeks comments on regulatory priorities, California Consumer Financial Protection Law regulation and supervision, and market monitoring functions. For any recommendation relating to rulemaking, the DFPI invites stakeholders and the public to provide a description of the economic impact (if known) of the recommendation for California businesses and consumers.
Bank of England Discusses CBDCs in New York
Andrew Hauser, executive director for markets at the Bank of England, delivered a speech at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Columbia SIPA Workshop Wednesday about central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)
“CBDCs, if adopted, would be the first new type of central bank liability for centuries,” he said. “They could have important implications for the size, composition and risk profile of our balance sheets; for the monetary policy transmission mechanism, and for monetary control.”
DOJ Charges Ex-OpenSea Employee in NFT Insider Trading Scheme
Nathaniel Chastain, a former product manager at OpenSea, has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering through a scheme to commit insider trading with NFTs. He reportedly used confidential information on what NFTs would be used on OpenSea’s homepage for his own financial gain.
China’s Cybersecurity Rules Pose Risks for Financial Firms, Lobby Group Says
China’s proposed cybersecurity rules for financial firms could pose risks to operations of western companies by making their data vulnerable to hacking, among other things, a leading lobby group has said, Reuters reported.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) released the draft Administrative Measures for the Management of Network Security in the Securities and Futures Industry April 29 and offered a month-long public consultation on the proposals.
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