EU anti-terrorism law to be introduced, Bitcoin is included in the proposal

Sina Finance News: On July 5, Eastern Time, the European Commission launched a new anti-money laundering regulation proposal for Bitcoin and prepaid cards in an effort to combat money laundering and tax evasion by terrorists exposed by the Paris terrorist attacks and the Panama Papers leak.

In the Paris terrorist attack on November 13 last year, terrorists used prepaid cards. To prevent similar incidents, the European Commission has issued a new anti-money laundering proposal. The proposal aims to improve the supervision of national bank accounts and the transparency of trust ownership, strengthen information sharing among European financial think tanks, and thus achieve real-time monitoring of suspicious transactions.

The proposal stipulates that the recharge threshold for non-rechargeable prepaid cards will be lowered from the original 250 euros to 150 euros, and virtual currencies led by Bitcoin will be included in the scope of anti-money laundering laws. At the same time, virtual currency platforms will need to verify the identity of virtual currency users and monitor transactions.

If the proposal is passed, EU member states will need a centralized registry to cover all banks and account owners. When suspicious events occur, national agencies will obtain relevant information through the registry. Frans Timmermans, President of the European Commission, said: "This proposal will help governments track down terrorists who hide funds in order to carry out criminal activities. Member states will be able to share key information with each other, such as who is the real owner of a trust fund, who is conducting online transactions and using prepaid cards." If voted through, the proposal will take effect at the end of this year.

At the same time, the European Commission has also proposed a corresponding proposal to address the loopholes in the tax evasion system. The proposal will give tax authorities the right to obtain anti-money laundering information and strengthen the supervision of automatic transaction information between companies and trust owners to solve the problem of tax evasion through offshore companies. In addition, the proposal also strengthens the review of tax advisors and improves the legal protection of whistleblowers.

Currently, the EU is establishing a blacklist of tax agencies that do not comply with EU regulations, and the agencies on the list will be sanctioned. The EU said: "We hope to combat the radical tax exemption system in third countries through the establishment of this blacklist." (Su Chongying and Feng Hao from New York)