• September — AFC framework and digital assets
Experts presented the current state of AML / counter-terrorist financing ( CTF ) regulation of digital assets and how it will impact AFC programs going forward . The experts discussed markets in crypto-assets ( MiCA ) and the Travel Rule World , as well as the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ( BCBS ) and sanctions topics related to non-fungible tokens . The panel spoke about the finalization of several regulatory initiatives at the European and international levels that would lay down the broader regulatory framework under which crypto activities are allowed and how banks should manage the risks they pose . Within the EU , the council presidency and European Parliament had reached a provisional agreement on the MiCA proposal , which would bring crypto-assets under a regulatory framework . BCBS was close to issuing detailed rules on the prudential treatment of such exposures in due course . The German authorities ’ drive to legitimize the digital asset landscape and integrate it into the financial markets and Germany ’ s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority ’ s ( BaFin ) leading role in applying existing financial market law to crypto — and Germany — was also discussed .
• November — Transfer of funds regulation , German cryptoassets transfer regulation and EU AMLD
At this event , the latest regulatory developments and how they will impact AFC programs going forward were discussed . The occasion took place at a very interesting time for the crypto sector in Germany and across the EU and the U . S . While the FTX crash dominated the headlines since it filed for bankruptcy on November 11 , a lot of uncertainty has been created in the market . At the same time , more positive developments had taken place in the crypto space toward the end . Besides the passing of the EU ’ s MiCA , the U . S . announced the release of a “ Comprehensive Framework For Responsible Development of Digital Assets ,” and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development published the final Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework for the automatic exchange of information between countries on crypto-assets . The experts noted that these regulatory frameworks will empower regulators to pursue investigations and enforcement actions against unlawful practices in the digital assets space . The discussion also revolved around licenses issued by BaFin to Coinbase and BitPanda , the Austrian crypto exchange . Beyond that discussion , the experts went over the market solutions that will facilitate the implementation of the Travel Rule that is underway and whether an EU standard for implementing the Travel Rule is necessary or the industry itself should build a SWIFT system for the transfer of crypto-assets . Finally , discussions around the day-to-day monitoring of crypto-assets transfers and blockchain analytics tools took place .
A big thanks go out to our sponsors Acuminor , Blackdot Solutions , Berlin Risk , Chainalysis , Validatis and YPO ; our media partner , the Compliance Channel ; and our speakers :
• Dennis Hannemann , head of Regulatory Strategy , Validatis
• Lora von Ploetz , head of Global Financial Crime Unit , Commerzbank
• Tommas Kaplan , head of Compliance , von Poll Immobilien
• Eric van der Schild , chair , EFIPPP Steering Group
• Martin Nordh , CEO , Acuminor
• Stephan Niermann , director of Group Compliance , N26
• Charles Brown , head of Community , Blackdot Solutions
• Nana Heider , head of Financial Crime Intelligence Unit , Deutsche Bank
• Haibo Zhang , former global head of Applied Analytics , HSBC
• Janet Ho , head of EU Policy , Chainalysis
• Nico Di Gabriele , senior team lead , European Central Bank
• Peter Grosskopf , co-founder / CTO , Unstoppable Finance
• Peter Müller , financial crime officer , UBS
• Dr . Carola Rathke , partner , YPOG
• Dr . Anika Patz , senior associate , YPOG
• Barbara Foertsch , compliance officer , Solarisbank
• Stefano Bovo , money laundering reporting officer , Coinbase
For additional information on Germany Chapter events , membership details and upcoming events , please visit the ACAMS Germany Chapter page : http :// www . acams . org / acams-chapters / germany .
To contact the chapter directly , email germanychapter @ acams . org . In addition , an overview of activities by the ACAMS Germany Chapter since 2016 can be found at : http :// www . acams . org / acams-chapters / germany .
Jennifer Hanley-Giersch , CAMS-Audit , managing partner , Berlin Risk Advisors GmbH , Berlin , Germany , jennifer . hanley @ berlinrisk . com
ACAMS Today September – November 2023 151