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The Financial Intelligence Authority of Uganda (FIA Uganda) has requested the Ministry of Finance to come up with a framework to help regulate cryptocurrency operations in the country.
This request comes following non-compliance by various crypto operators in the country to register their operations – a call which went out in late 2020.
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SEE ALSO: The Financial Intelligence Authority of Uganda Amends the AML Act to Regulate Virtual Asset Service Providers
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Speaking to a group of organizations in Kampala, Uganda, Mr. Sydney Asubo, Executive Director, FIA Uganda, said:
“Virtual assets service providers are now in category 16 of the most vulnerable to terrorism financing and money laundering.
Last year we gave them one month to register but only a few responded,” he said, noting many cryptocurrency operators continue to operate illegally, which makes it difficult to regulate their activities.”
– Executive Director, Financial Intelligence Authority, Uganda
A number of high-profile crypto scams have exposed many Ugandans to millions in losses necessitating the need for a registration of entities within the country.
In December 2020, FIA Uganda amended the 2013 Anti-Money Laundering Act through an act of Parliament to include Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) as Accountable Persons.
The amended Act now means that cryptocurrency exchanges and virtual assets providers are now subject to the supervision and monitoring by the FIA.
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RECOMMENDED READING: [WATCH] Chairman, Blockchain Association, Uganda, Nominated to the World Economic Forum Council on Cryptocurrencies
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