Russia FATF Rating Downgraded Due to ‘Insufficient Crypto Regulation’

cryptonews.com:

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has downgraded Russia’s compliance rating due to its “insufficient regulation of virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.”

Vedomosti reported that German Neglyad, the Deputy Head of the domestic anti-money-laundering regulator Rosfinmonitoring, said the Russia FATF rating was confirmed at a plenary meeting on February 23.

Neglyad said that the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (EAG) conducted an analysis that resulted in the downgrading.

The EAG is a FATF affiliate, and its assessments were approved by the international body, Neglyad added.

The bodies also created a report on the technical compliance of the country’s anti-money laundering system.

The latest Russia FATF news will come as a blow to Moscow. The nation passed a full FATF audit in 2019, where its compliance level was awarded the body’s highest ranking.

The FATF has a compliance standard for “monitoring and countering suspicious transactions with virtual assets and cryptocurrency.”

The latest report notes that Russia’s rating was lowered from a rating of “compliant” to “partially compliant.”

Neglyad concurred that there was a need to respond to the downgrading. He admitted that Russia’s crypto regulations needed attention. Neglyad said:

“The extent to which Russia complies with the […] recommendations has been assessed. Russia’s rating was downgraded to [its] partial compliance. That indicates a remaining weakness in this area. First of all, there is a need to regulate the circulation of cryptocurrency.”

The Rosfinmonitoring chief added that Moscow needs to police the “activities of cryptocurrency exchanges.”

He added that the government needs to move in line with domestic “financial