South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit wants to strengthen anti-money laundering measures, specifically by enhancing ways to monitor crypto transactions.
On March 5, the FIU revealed a number of strategies to prevent money laundering at the AML Inspection Trustee Council, according to local media Wow TV. The FIU plans to launch a joint response team to handle AML crimes that threaten public livelihoods, in collaboration with the Financial Supervisory Service and financial institutions.
The team will be tasked with monitoring transactions and analyzing suspicious transaction patterns linked to voice phishing, multi-level fraud, gambling, and drug-related financial crimes. The joint response team will operate bi-monthly under the FIU to present reports regarding recent AML-linked activities.
In addition, authorities will issue warnings to certain industry players selected based on vulnerability towards AML crimes, media reports and industry requests.
According to the report, the FIU vows to actively review new types of money laundering methods, including the use of crypto trading accounts and the misuse of remittance services to facilitate money laundering.
Through these measures, the agency aims to encompass new emerging methods used to launder money, specifically the flow of funds through digital asset transactions in the crypto space.
In addition, the Financial Supervisory Service said that it would expand their monitoring reach to include finance firms which have recently been investigated for suspicious AML activity. They will also set their sights on companies previously flagged for weak AML management in prior assessments.
According to the Korean Customs Service, inspections have been conducted on up to 77 companies, which included high-risk money exchange offices as well as online and automated money exchanges last year. The investigation revealed 45 companies were guilty of violations such as failing to report suspiciously large transactions.
The FSS also announced it plans to evaluate the cooperation between consumer protection department and AML departments in South Korean firms to boost their ability to detect and prevent financial crimes from happening.
On Feb. 28, the South Korean government upgraded a temporary task force into a formal joint investigation unit that specifically deals with crypto-related crimes and fraud cases. The unit was formed due to the increasing number of crypto crimes in South Korea in recent years.
