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Qatar has reportedly come under fire for its lack of action against crypto companies. Despite clear regulations prohibiting virtual asset services, Qatar seems to ignore the issue.
2️⃣ Despite clear regulations prohibiting virtual asset services, Qatar seems to be ignoring the issue.
👉 The FATF’s report exposes Qatar’s failure to effectively combat evolving forms of criminal activity, including sanctioning virtual asset service providers.
— Keyur Rohit (@CryptoKingKeyur) June 2, 2023
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has just slammed Qatar Central Bank (QCB) for turning a blind eye to its regulations on virtual asset service providers. The FATF’s report exposes Qatar’s failure to effectively combat evolving forms of criminal activity, including sanctioning virtual asset service providers. In a shocking revelation, it appears that Qatar’s understanding of complex money laundering and terrorist financing is severely lacking.
The FATF urges Qatar to up its game and steps up efforts to tackle these sophisticated crimes head-on. While Qatar claims to have made progress in gathering beneficial ownership information, the FATF’s report reveals there’s still a long way to go. Qatar’s authorities have been accused of not fully utilizing their sophisticated analysis capabilities to identify instances of money laundering.
In December 2019, the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority warned that penalties would be imposed on any firm involved in crypto assets. But it seems little has been done to enforce these penalties. While virtual asset service providers are banned, Qatar secretly explores the idea of a central bank digital currency. Qatar’s central bank governor claims they’re still “evaluating the pros and cons.”
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