The Council of the European Union has published the 2nd Presidency Compromise Text version of the 5th Anti-money Laundering Directive. The text has been marked up to show how the 1st Compromise Text has been change to create the 2nd. The differences include:
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amendments to the definitions of:
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“virtual currencies“: “a digital representation of value that can be digitally transferred, stored or traded and is accepted by natural or legal persons as a medium of exchange, but does not have legal tender status and which is not funds as defined in … Article 4[(25)] of the [2nd Payment Services] Directive … nor monetary value stored on instruments exempted … in Article 3(k) and 3(l) of that Directive“; and
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“custodian wallet provider“: “an entity that provides services to safeguard private cryptographic keys on behalf of their customers, to holding, store and transfer virtual currencies“;
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an express derogation, which makes it clear that Member States may decide not to allow merchants to accept payments made using anonymous prepaid cards; and
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a new paragraph about the disclosure of beneficial interests, which is likely to prove controversial: “The information on beneficial ownership of legal entities set up exclusively for non-commercial purposes, such as the administration of the estate of private persons or succession planning shall be accessible to any person or organization that can demonstrate a legitimate interest“.
More to follow…
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