Japanese Crypto Exchanges Told to Block Sanctioned Russians’ Crypto Transactions
Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), and the Ministry of Finance have told domestic crypto exchanges to suspend all transactions with Russians and Belarusians who have been hit with international sanctions.
Per Nikkei and Reuters, Tokyo is moving “in line with the United States and Europe,” in a bid to prevent crypto transactions “from becoming a loophole in economic and financial sanctions” placed on Russia and Belarus.
The FSA and the ministry have told trading platforms that in cases where transactions made via Japanese crypto exchanges are found to involve individuals who have been hit with sanctions must be rejected. Those that appear “suspicious” in this regard must also be rejected. Such transactions must also be reported to the FSA and the Ministry of Finance.
In a joint statement, the bodies also called for the increased monitoring of crypto transactions and asked exchanges to pay attention to sanctions lists published by the government.
On Friday last week, the G7 insisted that the international community would “impose costs on illicit Russian actors using digital assets to enhance and transfer their wealth.”
Reuters quoted an unnamed FSA “senior official” as stating:
“We decided to make an announcement to keep the G7 momentum alive. The sooner the better.”
However, Nikkei added that some sanctioned Russian customers may seek to get around such blocks by “using pseudonyms,” as well as other measures, and stated that the “effectiveness” of the suspension was “uncertain.”
Regardless, the Japanese Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA), the self-regulatory organization that comprises all of the nation’s registered crypto exchanges, is also planning to create a set of guidelines for
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