The Cabinet of Ireland approved a bill that transposes the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) into national law.
The measures will compliment existing legislation in order to strengthen the laws regulating digital currency firms, bringing them in line with other types of financial institutions.
According to a statement announcing the move, the amendments will give the requirements of the directive a statutory footing for the first time.
“The Minister for Finance has also secured Government Approval to bring forward amendments in respect of the regulation of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) […] the amendments will ensure that the necessary registration and fitness and probity regime, required by 5AMLD for virtual asset service providers, become statutory requirements.”
The implementation will also see Ireland meeting its obligations to the FATF, in line with the recommendations on new technologies.
AMLD5 was originally introduced on July 9, 2018 and Member States were to incorporate them into domestic law by January this year, Irel;and was recently fined €2,000,000 for failing to do so in time.
Minister McEntee described the measures as “an important step” in the fightback against money laundering and terrorism financing in Ireland.
