The Legislative Yuan passed the amendment to the Money Laundering Prevention Act on the third reading in July this year, clearly stipulating that virtual asset operators must complete registration before they can provide services. The Financial Supervisory Commission announced relevant measures yesterday (1), requiring virtual asset operators to complete registration before the end of September next year, otherwise they will be punished with a maximum sentence of 2 years in prison. The Financial Supervisory Commission will also draft a special law on virtual assets, and the draft is expected to be released by the end of the year.
The Financial Supervisory Commission stated that it has currently developed a draft of the "Money Laundering Prevention Registration Measures for Enterprises or Persons Providing Virtual Asset Services" (VASP Registration Measures), which is expected to be officially launched on January 1, 2025, and has completed 26 of the money laundering prevention legal compliance statements. VASP platform operators must "apply for registration" before March 31 next year and "complete registration" before September 30 next year; if they continue to operate without completing the registration within the time limit, they may be sentenced to a maximum of 2 years in prison or a criminal offence. Or be subject to a fine of not more than 5 million yuan.
Apply for registration according to business type
According to the Financial Supervisory Commission, VASP operators can apply for registration according to the "business type", which is divided into five major categories: "virtual asset exchanger", "trading platform", "transferr", "custodian" and "underwriter". Category, business operation can be checked, in other words, it can be an exchanger or a trading platform at the same time.
The Financial Supervisory Commission emphasized that after the VASP registration system takes effect, the current compliance statement system will be abolished simultaneously. Therefore, regardless of whether the industry has completed the compliance statement, it should be registered in accordance with the VASP registration regulations.
As for VASP business management, the general compliance matters that virtual asset service providers should comply with include: legal compliance, obligations to retain legal currency, information systems and security, customer complaint handling, information announcement disclosure and record keeping, etc.
In addition, in conjunction with the revision of the "Measures for Preventing Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing by Virtual Currency Platforms and Trading Business Enterprises" (VASP Measures for Preventing Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing), the Financial Supervisory Commission stated that it will issue a regulatory notice in the near future and solicit opinions from all parties.
The Financial Supervisory Commission adopts a "step-by-step" approach to supervise virtual assets, which is divided into four major stages. The third stage is to add a "VASP registration system" to the Money Laundering Prevention Law, clarify the definition of VASP, and impose criminal liability on illegal operators. Consider adopting differentiated management according to the complexity of the business in the sub-law.
Timetable for the "Special Law on Virtual Assets": The draft will be released by the end of the year and will be sent to the Executive Yuan in June next year
As for the fourth stage, it is to promote the legislation of the "Special Law on Virtual Asset Management". To this end, the Financial Supervisory Commission has commissioned an outsourced research team to conduct research, refer to the norms and suggestions of the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and international organizations to collect and formulate The key points of supervision that must be mastered when specializing in virtual assets include: business license conditions, consumer protection, capital requirements, asset custody, market transaction behavior standards and business development.
The Financial Supervisory Commission expects to develop draft provisions of the special law before the end of December this year, and will conduct subsequent regulatory notices and public hearings. After adjustments and revisions are made based on external opinions, the draft special law is expected to be submitted to the Executive Yuan for approval in June next year.
"Taiwan's VASP operator "registration system" will be launched next year! Financial Supervisory Commission: "Special Law on Virtual Assets" will be released by the end of the year." This article was first published on (Block Guest).
