The Financial Supervisory Commission stated that it has launched the Travel Rule for virtual assets and that transfers exceeding NT$30,000 must strengthen information disclosure. (Photo by reporter Wang Menglun)
[Reporter Wang Menglun/Taipei Report] In order to prevent virtual assets from being used to launder money or finance terrorist activities, the Financial Supervisory Commission said today (20th) that it will refer to the recommendations of the International Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) and amend the release of "Provide Virtual Assets" "Measures for Preventing Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing by Enterprises or Personnel in Real Estate Services" requires virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to collect and transmit relevant trader information when handling virtual asset transfers to increase transaction transparency and make the flow of funds easier to track.
The Financial Supervisory Commission stated that virtual assets have the characteristics of high anonymity and cross-border circulation. Therefore, the "Travel Rule" has been promoted internationally, requiring virtual asset service providers to simultaneously provide relevant information of the transferor and recipient when transferring assets to reduce the risk of money laundering and information terrorism.
After multiple discussions with the Virtual Currency Business Association, the Financial Supervisory Commission decided to adopt a phased approach to promote relevant regulations.
There are three key points in this revision of the law: First, basic information must be provided for virtual asset transfers, and information collection must be strengthened for transactions exceeding 30,000 yuan. In the future, regardless of the amount of virtual asset transfer, virtual asset service providers must comply with the Travel Rule and provide necessary trader information.
If the amount of a single transfer exceeds NT$30,000, more identity information must be provided. For example, if the transferor is a natural person, additional date of birth and residential address must be provided; if it is a legal person, an official identification number and registration address must be provided to make the transaction information more complete and help trace suspicious fund flows.
Secondly, the receiving operator must also check the customer information. In the past, it mainly focused on the collection and transmission of transaction information. This revision of the law further requires that when a virtual asset service provider serves as the recipient and the transfer amount exceeds 30,000 yuan, it must check the recipient information provided by the transferor with the customer information it retains to confirm whether the information is consistent to improve data accuracy and risk control capabilities.
Furthermore, the system adjustment needs of the industry will be considered and implemented in phases. The Financial Supervisory Commission stated that since domestic and foreign virtual asset service providers still need to make system interfaces and operational process adjustments, relevant provisions on the scope of application and implementation period are added to the revised law to allow industry players time to complete preparations and gradually implement relevant requirements.
The Financial Supervisory Commission reminds that after this regulation is promulgated, it will first be implemented in the transfer of virtual assets between domestic virtual asset service providers; in the future, if people want to transfer virtual assets through one domestic operator to another domestic operator, they must cooperate in providing the necessary information specified in Article 7 of the Measures. In addition, the virtual asset transfer can only be executed after the operator obtains relevant information and transmits the information to the recipient operator.
The Financial Supervisory Commission emphasized that the purpose of promoting the Travel Rule is to make virtual asset transaction information more transparent, reduce the risk of criminals using virtual assets to launder money or fund terrorist activities, and also make related transactions easier to track and manage.
