EU Expands Crypto Regulatory Powers as Multiple Nations Join Forces to Combat Cross-Border Financial Crime

According to AML Intelligence, the European Commission adopted a delegated act on September 9 to extend the Central Contact Point (CCP) framework to crypto-asset service providers (CASPs), empowering national regulators to require crypto exchanges to appoint local liaison officers. On the same day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the transnational criminal organization Xinbi Guarantee. The Chinese-language platform has been accused of providing an illegal online marketplace for Chinese cybercriminals engaged in activities such as online fraud, scamming, and money laundering, while the Department of Justice simultaneously seized its related infrastructure and digital asset wallets. Additionally, Europol assisted Spanish police in an international law enforcement operation that resulted in the arrest of 21 individuals suspected of participating in drug trafficking and money laundering. International arrest warrants were issued for 19 suspects abroad, six of which have already been executed in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and the Netherlands.