Crypto assets added to anti-money laundering law

HÀ NỘI — The National Assembly (NA) on August 24 passed amendments to three laws governing the banking and financial sectors, adding provisions on suspicious indicators related to crypto assets to provide a legal basis for identifying, assessing and controlling money-laundering risks in the sector.

During the NA's first extraordinary session, 94.6 per cent of lawmakers voted in favour of amendments to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam, the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and the Law on Credit Institutions.

Under the amendments to the Law on Anti-Money Laundering, which covers reporting of suspicious transactions under Article 26, reporting entities must report suspicious transactions to the State Bank of Vietnam when there are reasonable grounds to suspect that assets involved in a transaction are proceeds of crime.

Based on anti-money-laundering requirements in each period, the State Bank of Vietnam may propose that the Government add suspicious indicators for specific industries and sectors beyond those already set out in the law.

Notably, the law adds Article 33a after Article 33, setting out 15 suspicious indicators in the crypto-asset sector. These include conducting multiple high-value crypto-asset transactions within a short period without a clear business purpose; repeatedly depositing, trading and withdrawing crypto assets within a very short period immediately after establishing a customer relationship; and customers accessing a crypto-asset service provider's platform through tools that allow them to conceal their identity or Internet Protocol address.