PANews May 16 news, according to CoinDesk, the U.S. Treasury Department hopes to continue to strengthen anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing work around digital assets as part of its broader strategy to curb illegal financing. The department released its 2024 National Strategy for Combating Terrorism and Other Illegal Financing on Thursday, outlining priorities for combating illegal financing. The Treasury Department emphasized its ongoing work in the cryptocurrency field, including sanctions on certain exchanges and groups such as Bitzlato and Lazarus, a settlement with Binance, and warnings against "pig killing" scams. This annual document outlines how the Treasury Department views the problem of illegal financing and the role that cryptocurrency regulation may play in curbing this problem.
Overall, Thursday's strategic document said its four major priorities are to fill anti-money laundering regulatory gaps, support a "more effective and risk-focused" framework, improve the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies and leverage technological innovation, and updating the existing cryptocurrency regulatory framework will support these priorities. The document said this includes potential updates to the U.S. regulatory framework (anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing) and a commitment to "global implementation of the Financial Action Task Force standards." The document said: "Successfully applying the existing anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing regulatory and enforcement framework to virtual asset activities requires the United States to allocate sufficient regulatory and law enforcement resources and continue to invest in technology and training to help analysts, investigators, and regulators develop further expertise related to new technologies, including analyzing public blockchain data."
In a press release, Treasury officials said that Treasury Undersecretary Wally Adeyemo and Undersecretary for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson have discussed with lawmakers the department’s request for expanded authority and oversight over certain cryptocurrency issues. “We will continue to work with Congress to provide technical assistance on these proposals, and it remains a priority for the leadership of this agency to obtain these authorities,” they said.
In Thursday’s filing, the Treasury said it will continue to monitor the evolution of digital asset payments, including decentralized finance, provide technical assistance to Congress, continue to study the use of sanctions, and seek additional funding for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
