The Netherlands is one of the most developed countries in Europe. However, crypto companies are struggling to adapt to the new reality, as the central bank wants to quickly enforce Dutch anti-money laundering (AML) laws. The Dutch parliament approved AML laws in April.
The Dutch parliament passed AML laws to comply with the European Union’s AML directives and standards.
However, the Dutch central bank gave companies only several weeks, more precisely two weeks as crypto companies must register by May 18.
Last month, the Upper House of the Dutch parliament approved its “amended” Fourth Anti-Money Laundering (AMLD4) laws.
As a result, companies that convert crypto to fiat or offer crypto custody services have to comply with this requirement. Furthermore, if they do not register by the deadline, the crypto companies will face serious consequences.
Crypto industry in the Netherlands
Crypto companies do not support this law. According to the companies, this law created additional pressure on the industry.
Nevertheless, crypto-to-crypto companies do not need to register.
In their respective statements, the Dutch central bank and parliament cited the EU’s amended “fourth anti-money laundering directive”. It was not immediately clear why they decided to mention the older version. As stated above, the country already adopted a more recent directive, so it is hard to explain why they decided to mention AMLD4.
It is worth mentioning that the central bank will impose fines. Moreover, this is not the biggest threat, as companies face the prospect of immediate cease-and-desist orders.
Last but not least, the AMLD5 gave EU members until January 10 to implement the directive. Nevertheless, the Dutch lawmakers only adopted this directive on April 21. However, a draft application is enough to fulfill the registration needs for the mid-May date. Authorities in the Netherlands should wok together with crypto companies to address any issue connected with AMLD5.
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