Central Bank of Georgia Set to Launch AML Investigations on Crypto Firms

A statement issued by the Georgian authority reveals that the crypto-friendly country in the Soviet bloc plans to supervise crypto firms thoroughly. The report demonstrated that the regulatory agencies in Georgia plan to adopt restrictive measures to prevent violation of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations in the region.

Additionally, the regulators will take strategic actions to ensure that the crypto firms in the region comply with the regulations. As of September 1, the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) will introduce new regulatory procedures for supervising the virtual assets service providers in the region.

Strategies for Addressing Money Laundering

In an interview with a local news site InterPressNews, the governor of NBG, Archil Mestvirishvili, confirmed that the new regulation would address money laundering cases in Georgia. Mestvirishvili stated that the expected measures to AML aimed at upholding Georgia’s compliance with current Western sanctions.

Recently countries in the Western region have imposed restrictive measures on Belarus and Russia. These measures aimed at blocking Russia from funding ongoing wars.

Georgia has mandated the NBG to ensure the country complies with Western sanctions. Mestvirishvili opined that the NBG team thoroughly supervises the sanctions imposed by the US and the European Union.

He confirmed that the NBG management launched a new department for monitoring compliance with the existing sanctions. Mestvirishvili noted that the NBG team had taken enforcement action on the sanction, which determines the financial prosperity in the region.

In the latter, the NBG plans to probe crypto firms violating the AML rules. Also, the NBG’s new measures aimed at boosting the integrity and security of crypto transactions in the region.

Impact of Western Sanctions

Besides the impending supervision of crypto firms, Mestvirishvili and the NBG team plans to impose restrictive measures on the operation of foreign banks in Georgia. He stated that from September 1, Russian nationals would be prohibited from withdrawing 20% of their total savings.

The restriction on withdrawal limits aimed at supporting the country to regain its financial stability. Mestvirishvili lamented that the increase in foreign deposits by Russian nationals had weakened Georgia’s economic position.

Commenting on the changes in capital inflow, some of the Georgian regulators requested the NBG to store the capital under question as liquid funds. The NBG announcement came when the government of Georgia plans to pass the crypto bill into law.

Scope of New Crypto Bill

In a recent submission, the legislative bodies in Georgia formulated new crypto regulations to support the enforcement of the European Union provision. The bill aimed at providing the VASP in the region with a legal structure.

A scrutiny of the new bill demonstrated that the regulators would apply new measures to combat money laundering and related financial terrorism. Also, the new bill will act as a roadmap for Georgia to become a thriving international crypto hub.

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