By Dan Byrne for AMLi
Top G20 government officials have welcomed recent Financial Action Task Force efforts to target and combat money laundering amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an address to the G20 Wednesday, the FATF highlighted the continuing devastating impact of the pandemic on economies around the world which financial criminals are exploiting.
“As the world faces a long road to economic recovery, it has never been more important for countries to fully implement the FATF Standards and establish sound and effective measures to protect their economy,” the organisation said in a statement.
FATF advised that they were exploring new technologies to make AML efforts more efficient and effective.
G20 finance ministers and central bank governments came together Wednesday to endorse these efforts.
The threat of financial crime in the digital space has received increased focus amid COVID-19 lockdowns, with the FATF zoning in on the risks associated with of so-called stablecoins in a recent report.
The growing use of this sub-type of cryptocurrencies, which are usually backed by external commodities like fiat currency or precious metals, had led FATF to recommend new regulation standards to its member nations in August.
Many of these members are also in the G20.
However, despite the G20’s endorsements this week, FATF reiterated their criticism that eight G20 nations have still failed to incorporate stablecoin recommendations into their national legal frameworks.
In a communique, the G20 has called for all stablecoins to be held from operations until the “relevant legal, regulatory and oversight requirements are adequately addressed through appropriate designs and by adhering to applicable standards.”
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