Ukraine continues crypto crime crackdown

The government of Ukraine is accelerating its crackdown on cryptocurrency crime as it looks to introduce a new law to block wallets and seize illegal assets.

Over the past several months, the nation has been taking steps to greater increase transparency surrounding the industry.

Back in November, the government announced a new law forcing citizens to disclose not only their own crypto holdings, but also those of their close relatives.

A month later, lawmakers then legalised cryptocurrency. The move was part of the country’s ongoing efforts to control economic grey areas while also adopting international anti-money laundering (AML) practices in crypto transactions, effectively legitimising them.

Now, Ukraine’s finance minister has revealed yet another new law that will allow the government to block cryptocurrency wallets and seize assets it deems illegal.

In a statement, Oksana Markarova said the country will ramp up its surveillance of the industry to further reduce crime related to the sector.

SFMS to lead the way

The enhanced surveillance activities will be conducted by Ukraine’s state financial monitoring service (SFMS).

The SFMS reportedly has an analytical tool that can investigate the origin of a particular cryptocurrency.

The tool has already been implemented and has led to the completion of several cases already – both locally and internationally.

Speaking on the legalisation of crypto in the country, Markarova revealed:

“The purpose of public financial monitoring is to prevent money laundering, including through cryptocurrencies.

“But I think that our criminals and corrupt officials are quite conservative and still keep the funds mostly in cash. Therefore, in the legalisation of cryptocurrencies, I see opportunities for the development of this industry in our country, not a threat.”

Interested in reading more cryptocurrency-related news? Discover more about Japanese lawmakers making a u-turn on the country’s CBDC plans.