South Korea’s Financial Intelligence Unit wants to strengthen anti-laundering measures, especially by increasing the methods of monitoring crypto transactions.
On 5 March, according to local media, FIU revealed several strategies to prevent money laundering at the AML Inspection Trustee Council. Wow tvFIU plans to start a joint response team to handle AML offenses that endanger public livelihood, in collaboration with financial supervisory service and financial institutions.
The team will be tasked to monitor the transaction and analyze the suspected transaction patterns related to financial crimes related to voice fishing, multi-level fraud, gambling and medicine. The joint response team will recently operate a two-manner under the FIU to submit a report about AML-Linked activities.
In addition, officers will issue warnings to some industries selected based on AML offenses, media reports and vulnerability to the requests of the industry.
According to the report, the FIU vows to actively review new types of money laundering methods, including the use of crypto trading accounts and misuse of remittances services to facilitate money laundering.
Through these measures, the agency aims to incorporate new emerging methods used to loot money, especially the flow of money through digital asset transactions in crypto space.
In addition, the Financial Supervisory Service stated that it would expand their monitoring access to include finance firms that have recently been investigated for suspected AML activity. They will also set their places on the first flag companies for weak AML management in prior assessment.
According to the Korean Customs Service, inspections have been done for 77 companies, including high-risk money exchange offices as well as online and automated money exchange last year. Investigation revealed that 45 companies were guilty of violations such as suspectedly failed to report large transactions.
The FSS also announced that South Korean firms plan to evaluate cooperation between the Department of Consumer Protection and AML departments in South Korean firms to plan and promote the ability to detect and prevent financial crimes.
On 28 February, the South Korean government upgraded a temporary task force to a formal joint inquiry unit, which is particularly related to crypto-related crimes and fraud cases. In recent years, the unit was formed due to increasing number of crypto crimes in South Korea.
