The demand for cryptocurrency is rising up as the market is surging. However, the positive adoption of Bitcoin and other altcoins leading to major hacks and other criminal activities world over. In an update on July 11, by a mainstream media outlet, Bloomberg, a new racket has become visible by the Spanish police which reflects that Bitcoin (BTC) automated teller machines (ATMs) business ventures have to strictly control the fraud practices that are happening in the European Union due to digital assets money laundering issues.
Bitcoin [BTC] ATMs, Euros, and Drug Trafficking
As per the information, Spanish police has exposed the local gang of criminals who deployed Bitcoin ATMs to transfer over 9 million euros ($10 million) for drug trafficking activities in Colombia including other countries.
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The publication outlined the statement which it received from an unnamed official of Civil Guard– a deep-rooted law enforcement agency performing police duties under the authority of Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence that covers the whole of Spain.
“Rules designed to force money handlers to vet their clients don’t apply to the cash machines’ owners or to cryptocurrency trading platforms.”
Meaning there are loopholes in the European Union’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. The rules which are designed for ATM businesses to investigate their clients in an apt way are not up to the mark. The overseers have now highlighted a gap in anti-money laundering controls within the European Union (EU) which do not cover cryptocurrency ATMs, and they are now widely used for illicit drug payments.
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Cryptocurrency Trading Centre and Bitcoin [BTC] ATM
Reportedly, the group has employed two ATM machines from trading platforms and installed them in an office in Madrid- the capital of Spain. The office disguised itself as a place which provides remittance service and cryptocurrency trading center. However, through the center, the money transfer exercises were used to perform by moving the huge amount from the bank to the ATM machines while purchasing the digital assets with the help of trading platforms and then sent to the drug traffickers in Colombia. The operations of the office went unnoticeable for a long time, according to the publication.
As per the reports, the new EU regulations are expected to appear by 2020, wherein cryptocurrency exchanges and custodians would be monitored actively against anti-money laundering issues except Bitcoin [BTC] ATM’s. The consultants to lawmakers are worried about the increasing no. of crimes and how the popular dealers are exploiting bitcoin ATMs for their interest and working unnoticeably.
Tags: Cryptocurrency News, Spain, Police, Cryptocurrency ATMs, European Union, Civil Guard, Bitcoin (BTC), Mainstream Media, Drugs, Drug Trafficking Activities
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