The EU Response to Criminal Misuse of Cryptocurrencies: The Young, already Outdated 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive

Abstract

Combatting criminal misuse of cryptocurrencies was at the core of the FATF agenda under the US Presidency, culminating in June 2019 with the thorough extension of international standards against money laundering over virtual assets’ markets. This echoed the first legislative measure regulating virtual currencies adopted by the EU a year before. Directive 2018/843, better known as the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, fails however to address key technological breakthroughs and new business models, which continuously make the evergrowing and fast-paced crypto economy evolve. Against this background, the present contribution investigates shortfalls and challenges that lay ahead in the light of the new FATF Recommendations. It ultimately argues that the preventive anti-money laundering measures cannot dispense with the establishment of a cross-border integrated supervisory and enforcement system.