The Ministry of Justice in Taiwan and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) are looking to include cryptocurrencies in property declaration law for public officials, a local news outlet reported Thursday. The move comes amid the increasing use of crypto in money laundering and other illegal activities.
Taiwan Could Also Regulate Crypto Exchanges to Minimize Money Laundering
Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice is considering adding cryptocurrencies to the list of assets that public officials must disclose amid their increased use in illicit activities such as money laundering, according to a local news outlet. The ministry also said it had included crypto exchanges and other related businesses in the scope of money laundering prevention.
According to the ministry and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), cryptocurrencies have not gained enough popularity yet to be used as a payment method or accepted by financial institutions in Taiwan. However, given that crypto assets still have considerable value, Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice could include cryptocurrencies in the Public Official Property Declaration Act.
The ICAC also highlighted that after reaching a record high in 2021, Taiwan scored 68 points in the global Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking the East Asian country in the 25th position. With this ranking, Taiwan has surpassed more than 86% of countries, indicating that its anti-corruption efforts have been globally recognized.
“Our efforts to root out corruption, bribery, and graft have produced these results for the world to see.”
– said Taiwan’s Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang
New Risks Emerge amid Rapidly-growing Crypto Adoption
Taiwan’s efforts to potentially include cryptocurrencies in the property declaration law for public officials come amid the growing popularity in the region, as well as on the global scale. But crypto’s increasing use as a currency also identified notable money laundering risks, as evidenced in several cases in recent years.
Last year, Chinese police arrested a crime group suspected of laundering $5.6 billion worth of cryptocurrencies. The substantial increase in the use of crypto for money laundering was made possible by tools known as crypto mixers and cross-chain bridges such as Ren Bridge and Tornado Cash, which was sanctioned in the US in 2022.
Meanwhile, Taiwan remains interested in fostering the nascent technology and launched a new ministry last year focused on information security, Web3, and digital innovation.
This article originally appeared on The Tokenist
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