U.S. Ends FATF Presidency With Crypto Recommendations | Kharon The Kharon Brief

U.S. Ends FATF Presidency With Crypto Recommendations

Photo: FATF

 

As the U.S. on Friday completed its one-year term as the president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Paris-based body issued guidance on cryptocurrency-provider compliance and pushed back a deadline again for Iran to comply with its obligations.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin delivered the closing remarks at the plenary session held in Orlando, Fla., stressing the importance of new global standards agreed to by FATF to protect cryptocurrency assets from abuse by illicit actors. 

By adopting the standards and guidelines agreed to, “FATF will make sure that virtual asset service providers do not operate in the dark shadows,” Mnuchin said.

The U.S. Treasury has previously imposed sanctions against cryptocurrency traders: Mohammad Ghorbaniyan and Ali Khorashadizadeh were designated in November 2018 for helping exchange bitcoin ransom payments into Iranian rial on behalf of actors involved with the SamSam ransomware scheme. Despite the unprecedented U.S. action of designating his publicly advertised bitcoin address, Ghorbaniyan has continued his activities, Kharon reported in March.