The UIAF, which is Colombia’s money laundering watchdog, has postponed the date when exchanges and individuals must begin reporting their transactions to the organization. The institution will now open a comment period during which companies and individuals can present their thoughts on the draft regulations, which could be modified before they apply on June 1.
Colombian watchdog delays resolution of report for transactions
The UIAF, the organization that monitors and detects money laundering and terrorist financing activities in Colombia, has delayed a resolution establishing the obligation for exchanges and individuals to report certain cryptocurrency transactions. The Colombian unit will begin receiving these reports on June 1, instead of April 1 when it was created.
The exact reasons for the delay were not specified in the document, but the new resolution establishing the postponement states:
In order to ensure that the submission of reports to the UIAF is complete and meets the information needs of the entity, the need to extend the start date of the report has been considered.
The new resolution also states that organizations that have already sent in their reports can still send them voluntarily, but that no penalty will be derived for not sending them before June 1. This will allow more time to adapt to the rule which was established in December 2021 with Resolution 314, while the organization receives feedback from different groups on the matter.
Objective and criticism
The UIAF discussed the need to oversee cryptocurrency transactions in Resolution 314, which requires Established Subjects to report single transactions with a value exceeding $150 or groups of transactions with a value exceeding $450. To this end, the Colombian organization stated that:
Virtual assets have created a situation that merits the intervention of the UIAF, since, although they are operations that in Colombia are not illegal in themselves, they can lend themselves to illicit activities, due to anonymity or pseudonymity of transactions, lack of central bank support, and non-recognition as an instrument of liberating power.
However, this resolution has faced heavy criticism from several crypto-related figures in the country, who oppose the huge volume of data that will have to be delivered to the institution. Of these, Alejandro Beltran, Buda.com country director for Colombia, said:
Reports from USD 150 would envision a large trading volume, and the other associated data goes well beyond even the information exchanges themselves can handle on trades.
What do you think of the delay in enforcing the Crypto Transaction Reporting Resolution in Colombia? Tell us in the comments section below.
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