Argentina cracks down on cryptocurrencies with anti-money laundering rules

Argentina’s Union for Financial Information (UIF), the country’s regulator of money laundering risks, is now reportedly working to add crypto firms to the list of entities subject to AML reporting requirements.

According to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, the plan is for the new rules to take effect this year, and if passed, would significantly change the way cryptocurrency companies interact with Argentine regulators.

Of course, this is not the first time that regulators overseeing AML risks have targeted cryptocurrency companies, in the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) did the same in March 2021.

Since then, crypto businesses as defined by the FCA have been required to file annual financial crime returns, which documents are returned, such as the number of suspicious activity reports generated during the reporting period.

The policy statement recommends that more companies and crypto-asset businesses should be included in returns based on their business activities and potential money laundering risks, the FCA said at the time.