Venezuelan cryptocurrency watchdog Sunacrip has issued a new internal regimen defining guidelines to follow when dealing with reports of suspicious activity regarding fintech platforms The document is available on the Venezuelan website. The document states that use of an unauthorized platform may constitute suspicious activity and ostensibly could result in a penalty of $15,000 for the customer.
Sanaclip publishes internal providence on fintech activity
Venezuela’s cryptocurrency watchdog, Sunacrip, is trying to have better control over the moves Venezuelans make with cryptocurrency and other assets using fintech platforms. The organization has issued a newprovisothat establishes a mechanism to address suspicious activity involving fintech platforms.
The proviso, an internal document signed by the organization’s head, Joselit Ramirez, seeks to include different directives of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in its working process to detect money laundering and terrorist financing schemes. Venezuela is not currently a member of the FATF due to international sanctions.
Internal regulations state that the use of unregulated exchanges may be reported to the country’s financial intelligence agency and may be considered a warning signal that could result in an investigation and possible sanctions. The memo does not indicate the penalties applicable to these violations, but another related law defines sanctions for unauthorized use of crypto assets and establishes penalties of up to $15,000.
hindering the widespread use of crypto
This new set of measures could affect users of some exchanges, such as Binance, which lacks official registration and authorization with the agency, despite being very widely used by the domestic crypto community. Users of the exchange may flee to other platforms to avoid these sanctions. Other popular exchanges in the country are also not on the list of authorized exchanges.
In January, Sunacrip revoked the licenses of two exchanges, leaving some important names like Binance to be notified about those authorized by the organization. At that time, Ramirez told users to refrain from using these unlicensed exchanges.
However, cryptocurrency exchanges are not the only ones affected by this regulation. Fintech platforms and fiat exchange services operating in the country will also be included in the scope of this provider.
Venezuelan lawyer and cryptocurrency enthusiast Raul Velásquez said the National Financial Intelligence Unit has the ability to request information from banks as well as crypto institutions.” Fiat’s on and off ramps are particularly vulnerable to surveillance. But this is a very costly and complex task for government agencies. He concluded by pointing out that it is very strange that this document was not published in the country’s official gazette, a procedure that is mandatory for all documents of this kind.
Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons